Work and Transforming the City

Good morning, Watermark.

That was good. I'm impressed.

My name is Eric, for those of you who don't know me.

I'm one of the guys on staff here.

I'm the community director, which means that I oversee the kids' ministry,

youth ministry, some community group stuff, and some men's group stuff.

So I'm very excited to be sharing with you today from God's Word.

We're going to be wrapping up our study on faith and work today.

And if you've been with us all along, or if you haven't,

we've been defining work as anything you do that's not leisure,

which means even if you don't have a traditional job, you still have work.

If you're a stay-at-home mom, your work is running the house and taking care of the kids.

If you're a student, your work is going to school, because that is definitely not leisure, right?

And what we've seen throughout this study is that God created work,

and he created it good.

He gave it to us as a way of living in his image, because he is a God who works.

He gave it to us as a tool to be able to serve one another.

And yet we rebelled and sinned against him.

And as a result of our rebellion, work has become fruitless.

Work has become toil.

Work has become less than what it was supposed to be.

And yet we have a tendency to idolize our work and try to seek things from it

that we should only be getting from God and turn it into more than it was intended to be.

And so there's this picture of what work was supposed to be.

There's this problem with work.

And yet there's, in the story of the Bible, we find hope.

And we find this story of God coming and working to redeem all things, including work,

so that if we're Christians, we now have this opportunity to live in the midst of a broken world

and to work in a way that's distinctive, that seeks to serve others and love our city through our work,

even though we live in the midst of this broken world.

And today we're going to look at God's call for us to use our work

as a way of seeking the transformation of the city around us.

And what we're going to see is that God has called us to pursue the loving transformation of our city through our work,

but we can only do that through the transforming power of Jesus Christ in our lives.

And we're going to have sort of three steps to this process.

First, our command to love the city and seek its welfare.

Second, our problem, why we don't and can't do this.

And third, our solution, how Jesus empowers us to live this way through the gospel.

Everyone with me so far?

So we're starting off with our command to love the city and seek its welfare.

If you look at the passage today, the passage in Jeremiah 29 that Chris and Justin just read is a letter.

Now, I'm sure we all know with letters, the context of a letter is very important.

A letter that says, Dear John, usually means, uh-oh, something's gone wrong in a relationship, right?

And so understanding the background of what's going on is going to help us understand the message that's trying to be conveyed.

And what's going on in this passage is Israel is God's chosen people.

He's set them apart for a long time.

He's given them his special commandments and made them his special people.

He's promised to bless them, and yet they've disobeyed and rebelled over and over and over again.

And finally, God says, I need to get your attention.

I'm sending you into exile.

And the reigning world superpower of the day, a country called Babylon, comes in, lays siege to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel,

and then comes through, kills a bunch of the Israelites, destroys their homes, destroys their temple,

and then carries off the survivors to live in Babylon.

Not necessarily the people that you would choose as your neighbors if you had a choice,

and yet these people don't have a choice, so they are their neighbors now.

And the exiles in Babylon got a pretty lenient life as far as exiles go.

Basically, the rule was, come to our city, adopt our culture.

You can have any jobs that you want as long as you're qualified for them.

The two rules are, you have to adopt our culture, and you can't go back to your home.

But other than that, you can live freely, roam the city, interact with different people.

So, it's pretty lenient as far as exile goes.

And even a lot of the Israelite youth were given top-of-the-line education and great jobs within the government.

So, it could have been a lot worse, but still, you're away from home,

surrounded by the people who killed your family and tore down your house.

So, it could be better, too.

And God has this letter sent to the Israelites to tell them how they're supposed to live during this time of exile,

because a lot of them are just in denial.

They have these false prophets coming and saying,

Hey, guys, don't worry.

God's going to set you free in two years.

You're going to go back home.

Everything's going to be just like new.

And God sends this letter to say,

No, that's not true.

You're here for the long haul.

And here's what I want you to do in the meantime while you're here.

And what he says is,

I want you to live normal lives that seek the welfare of your city.

Pretty simple, right?

If you look at the letter, he says,

Build houses and live in them.

It's one of the most simple, basic things that we do in human life.

But, what are you doing when you build a house and live in it?

You're making a major financial investment that's tying you to the city.

And God's saying to Israel,

I want you to settle down in this city in such a way

that your financial future is tied to the financial future of this city of Babylon.

That also allows you to be hospitable to other strangers who come into this city.

He says,

Plant gardens and eat their produce.

Simple, everyday things of life.

You have to eat.

Do it so that you can stay alive.

Take wives and have sons and daughters.

Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage

that they may bear sons and daughters.

Multiply there and do not decrease.

It's interesting.

They're in the midst of this land that is opposed to God,

that is torn down the temple where God is worshipped,

that's doing everything they can to turn the Israelites away from God.

And God says,

I want you to have kids there.

I don't know if you've ever had one of these conversations

where you're talking to someone and they're like,

the world is such a messed up place,

I can't imagine ever bringing kids into this world.

Their world was probably worse.

And God says,

I want you to bring kids into this world.

Why?

Because I have a plan for you in the future.

And I have a promise for you that I'm going to restore things.

But for you guys to be able to enjoy and appreciate this restoration that I'm bringing,

there has to be people still alive.

And so actually,

every kid that the Israelites had while they were in exile

was a sign of their faith,

that one day God would restore things to the way they were supposed to be.

One day God's going to come back and he's going to set things right.

Maybe not in my lifetime,

maybe not in my kid's lifetime,

maybe it's going to be my grandkids.

But someday God is going to come back

and he's going to set things right.

And so I'm going to have kids

and I'm going to have them get married

so that they can have kids

because we believe that one day God's going to come,

God's going to put an end to this exile

and God's going to restore us

to the life that he's promised to us all along.

He says,

seek the welfare of the city

where I have sent you into exile.

Interesting, God says he has sent them into exile.

This isn't an accident.

This isn't just karma coming back at them.

No, this is God's plan

for them to be in exile,

which I don't know about you,

but if I'm reading this letter

and I'm in that situation,

I'd be a little bit angry at God, I think.

Anyone else?

But he says,

seek the welfare of the city

where I have sent you into exile.

If I'm in that situation,

the last thing I want to do

is seek the welfare of that city.

They've killed my family and friends.

They have torn down my house.

They have dragged me

hundreds or thousands of miles away

from the area that I have known as home

my entire life.

I want to see them suffer.

I want to see them destroyed.

And yet God says,

seek their welfare.

Actually, interesting,

the word welfare here,

if anyone's ever done any study of Hebrew,

which I'm guessing is not most of you,

but this is a very famous Hebrew word

that a lot of you have probably heard,

the word shalom.

Anyone heard that word before?

Typically, it's translated as like peace,

but it means so much more

than what we think of as peace.

We think of peace and we think,

oh, no violence.

But shalom means,

yes, no violence,

but also this actual prosperity

and a presence of the good.

And that's the word

that's translated as welfare here.

And God says,

I want you to seek

this comprehensive well-being

of the city

that has murdered your families.

I want you to seek

this comprehensive well-being

of the city

that destroyed your homes

and dragged you away into exile.

And he tells them

that they should live

counter-cultural lives

that seek to transform

the city where they are living.

And not only should they live these lives,

but he says,

pray to God on their behalf.

Because in the city's welfare,

you will find their welfare.

You try and do your best

to make the city

a great place to live

and then beg God

to make the city

a great place to live.

And why?

Because in this city's welfare,

you will find your welfare.

God says,

for the next,

he tells them later,

70 years,

your future is tied

to the future of this city.

If it prospers,

you will prosper with it.

If it suffers,

you will suffer with it.

And so even though

in your heart,

you want revenge

at these guys,

you want to get them back

for all the pain

that they've caused to you,

you doing that

is just going to make

things worse for you

because your future

is tied to their future.

If you want to prosper

and grow as an individual,

you need to seek

the prosperity and growth

of the city

where you're living

right now.

And if Israel

obeyed God perfectly

in these commandments,

they would be living

counter-cultural lives

that couldn't help

but point the world

around them towards God.

Because the reality

is that most exiles

in Babylon

did one of two things.

One,

there's a group

that avoided

any interaction

with the city.

They said,

we can't let it corrupt us.

We have to stay away.

And they never had a voice

for speaking into the city

because they never

knew anyone in the city

or were involved

in the life of the city.

The other group

assimilated completely

into the life of the city.

They got involved.

They got the top jobs.

Everything's going good for them.

But in the process,

they lost anything

that was unique

or distinctive about them.

And so even though

they were very involved

in the life of the city,

they couldn't actually

speak into the life

of the city

because there was

nothing distinctive

about them

for them to share

that would change

or impact things.

And God says to Israel,

I want you

to be a third way.

I want you

to meaningfully

engage this city,

build relationships,

take important jobs,

do things that contribute

to the growth

of the city,

but do it in a way

so that you don't

lose your distinctiveness.

Do it in a way

that seeks

the welfare of the city

rather than just

the acceptance

of the city.

Do it in a way

that seeks

this comprehensive

well-being

of the place

where you are living?

And if we think about it,

this passage

has a lot to say

to us today

about the way

that we approach

our work.

Number one,

God wants our work

to be a blessing

to the world around us

even if that world

is violently opposed

to him.

Think about it.

The Israelites

are living in a world

that just murdered

their families

and tore down

the temple

where they worshipped

God.

And God says,

I want you to seek

their welfare.

If that's true

for Babylon,

how much more true

is it for Hong Kong?

I know some people

who are very opposed

to the gospel here.

I've never met

someone here,

as far as I know,

I could have met them

and they just didn't

share this with me,

who murdered someone

because of how opposed

they are to Christianity.

I've never,

again,

as far as I know,

met someone in Hong Kong

who like tore down

a church

because they were opposed

to what that church

was teaching.

The people in Babylon

had done those things

and God says,

I want you to seek

their welfare.

And if he wants them,

Israel,

to seek their welfare,

how much more

does he want us

to seek Hong Kong's welfare

through the work

that we do?

Number two,

we should pursue

excellence in our work,

not because the people

we work for

are worthy,

but because we work

for God

and he is worthy.

Again,

someone murders

your family,

you don't want

to work well

for them.

You want to

be slothful

and lazy

and maybe stab

them in the back

when they turn around.

And yet,

God tells Israel,

do your best

to work hard

and do a good job

so that your city

can prosper

because it's

God's worthiness,

not Babylon's worthiness

or Hong Kong's worthiness

that determines

how we should work.

Number three,

God has designed

the fabric

of the universe

in such a way

that his people

prosper

when they make

the world around

them prosper.

You know,

if I was in Babylon

and I received

this command from God

that he wants me

to make the city

around me prosper,

I would be angry

about that.

I would be plotting,

I'd have like a chart

in my mind

of like damage to me

versus damage to Babylon

and I would have

like a scatter plot

of how I can inflict

the most damage

on Babylon

with the least damage

to myself.

Most of the scenarios

probably end up

with me being killed

if I'm caught

but I would try

and find one

that can inflict

maximum damage

without resulting

in my death

so that I can do

more and more

of these things

because I would

hate them

because you hate

people who kill

your family typically.

And God says,

I want you

to seek

their welfare.

I want you

to make them

prosper.

Don't suffer

so that you

can get revenge.

Seek their prosperity

so that you can grow

and you can prosper

because as someone

who lives

inside this city,

your welfare

is tied

to the welfare

of the city

in every way.

Economically,

if the city prospers,

there's more jobs

so that you can

stay employed

and prosper.

Ecologically,

if the city

cleans up its pollution,

you have cleaner air

to breathe.

Culturally,

if the city

is thriving,

you are able

to be exposed

to more culture

and grow more

as an individual.

Spiritually,

imagine in Hong Kong

if 7 million people

became Christians,

how that would

impact your faith.

On every level,

emotionally,

if the city

is full of

depressed people,

that's going to

impact you one way.

If the city

is full of

joyful people,

that's going to

impact you another way.

And God says,

your future

is tied

to the future

of the city

that you live in.

And if you care

about your own future,

whether you're

a Christian or not,

you should seek

the prosperity

of the city

where you live.

You know,

I sometimes struggle

with this idea.

I have a news flash

for you

if you didn't know

this already.

Working in a church

is not the best way

to get rich

and make your millions.

Despite that,

I try and be good

with budgeting

and set aside

a little money

at the end

of every month,

but there's no way

I could ever dream

of buying a house

in Hong Kong.

But sometimes

I have this thought

that maybe

after a few years

of saving

and saving

and saving,

there will be

a housing crash

in Hong Kong.

And the property prices

will drop so low

that we could afford

a down payment

and this will be fantastic.

And I believe

this lie

in that moment

that my welfare

lies in the disaster

and destruction

of Hong Kong.

But again,

it's a lie

because what happens

if Hong Kong

has a housing crisis,

Hong Kong is going

to have a wider

financial crisis,

which means people

start losing their jobs,

which means donations

to the church

go way down,

which means

I might not have

a job anymore.

And so,

even if I can afford

a down payment

on a house,

I can't afford

any payments

after that down payment.

I'm just going

to lose the house

and the down payment.

And then on top of that,

people are going

to lose out

on opportunities

to hear the gospel

because the church

just won't be able

to do as much

to reach out

to the people around them.

And so,

even in those moments

when I believe this,

it's a lie.

The truth is

that my well-being

is tied to the well-being

of the city

that I live in.

And God has designed

the fabric of the universe

in that way

so that if we care

about our own futures,

we should be

seeking the well-being

of the city

that we are living in.

And fourth,

the way that this

should impact,

the way that we approach

our work right now

is especially,

this one is especially

for Christians,

we should engage

our city meaningfully

yet retain our distinctiveness

as Christians

so that we can

point the city

towards our unique God.

We shouldn't avoid

the city,

we should engage it,

but we shouldn't

assimilate to the city,

we should stay distinct

so that we have

something meaningful

and distinct

to contribute

to the city,

to contribute

to its well-being.

And so,

we see what the passage says,

we see what we should do

in response to that,

everything's good,

sermon's over,

we all understand it,

we can go home, right?

Not quite.

Because we have a problem.

Point number two,

our problem,

we don't do this,

or at least I don't do this,

and I think I'm normal.

On a daily basis,

I fail to do this.

And it's not just that,

like,

I don't put in enough effort,

it's that no matter

how much effort I put in,

I'm incapable

of loving my city

in this way.

And all of us

are true.

It's not just that

we don't do this,

it's that

we can't do this.

Because our hearts

are broken.

Last week,

Chris talked about

work as idolatry,

and said that work

has a tendency

to become an idol

in our lives.

Idol not in the sense

of like a statue

that we bow down to,

but an idol

in the sense of

we seek

our meaning

and purpose

in life

at an ultimate level

from our work.

And we elevate

our work

to a position

in our life

higher than God

because of what

we're seeking

from our work.

And so we'll seek

things like status,

power,

comfort,

security,

and believe

that we can find

those on an ultimate

level from our work

and what we do.

And because of that,

we're willing to exploit

others and take

advantage of others

in our work

to hold on

to our grasp

of those things.

And so,

what we do

is we seek

our own welfare

at the expense

of the welfare

of our city

around us.

on a practical basis.

What does this look like?

It means I give

an assignment

to someone

who's working

for me at the office

and I come in later

to check on them

and they haven't

done it yet.

And rather than

seeking to understand

why they haven't

done it yet,

I blow up at them

and get angry

because them

not doing

what I told them

to do

cuts into

my idol of power

and tears away

at my identity

and so I need

to lash out at them

rather than

seek to love them.

Maybe it looks

like a supervisor

in an office

making a mistake

and because they

care so much

about the prestige

of their position

and the comfort

they can get

from their paycheck

that they blame

a subordinate

for that mistake

and let the subordinate

get fired in their place

because they

hold on

to these idols

of status

and comfort.

They're willing

to exploit those

who work for them

in order to hold

on to those things.

Maybe it's

the new graduate.

We just celebrated

our new graduates

so we should

pick on them

a little.

The new graduate

who gets into

their first job

out of university

and realizes

no one appreciates

me here.

I'm going to

switch to a new job.

After a couple months

of the new job

realizes no one

appreciates them

there either

maybe because

they're 22

and have no work

experience in the

real world.

They say I need

to jump to

another new job

and another new job

and another new job

and they never

settle down

and plant

themselves

and develop

the relationship

somewhere so that

they can make

a difference

because they're

so concerned

about having

a status

and being

recognized

and appreciated

that they just

jump around

from place

to place

to place

because they

need to find

that place

that's going

to appreciate

them and give

them the status

they feel

they deserve.

Every single

one of us

in some way

idolizes

our work

and seeks

to get meaning

an identity

from it

and as long

as our hope

is built

on our own

advancement

on our own

promotion

on our own

status

power

security

comfort

fill in the blank

with whatever

it is for you

we will always

exploit others

to get these

things

rather than

love others

sacrificially

and seek to

work in a way

that transforms

the city

and seeks

its welfare.

As long

as our hearts

are set

on these

things

rather than

on God

we will

always

exploit others

through our

work

rather than

seeking to

transform the

city through

our work

and seeking

the welfare

of the city

through our

work.

All of our

hearts are

broken.

All of us

idolize our

work in

some way

shape or

form and

because of

that all

of us end

up exploiting

others rather

than seeking

the welfare

and transformation

of our city

through our

work.

And the

harder we

try to

fix it

the more

messed up

it gets.

But there's

a solution.

The solution

is that Jesus

empowers us

to live the

way that we're

commanded to

in this

passage

through the

gospel.

See the

Bible is

in one

sense

a story

of two

cities.

The Bible

says that in

the beginning

God created

Adam and

Eve and he

placed them

in a garden

and he told

them to

cultivate it

to develop

it, to

make it

grow into

something more

than a

garden, maybe

a city.

And for a

time Adam

and Eve

lived in

this garden

and it

was wonderful,

it was

peaceful and

they had

all these

things that

we crave,

that power,

status,

security,

comfort,

they had

it perfectly

because they

were in

this perfect

relationship

with God

where they

were designed

to get

all these

things.

But then

they rebelled,

they disobeyed,

they ate the

fruit that God

told them not

to, and

brokenness

into the

world.

They were

kicked out

of this

garden that

was going to

become a

city of God

and moved

into this

fallen,

broken world.

And in this

fallen,

broken world,

we still have

this desire to

get back to

that original

city that we

were created

for.

That's the

source of our

idolatry.

we crave that

security that

we were created

to have in

God.

But because

we're broken,

we seek it in

other places.

We crave that

comfort that's

supposed to come

from God's

presence alone,

but because our

hearts are broken,

we seek it

through the

things we can

buy with our

paycheck.

We crave all

these things,

we pursue them

through our

jobs and

through our

idols.

And every

time we turn

to these

idols, rather

than fulfilling

our desires,

they make

life worse

for us by

pulling us

further and

further from

who we were

created to be.

Think about it.

We pursue this

comfort through

the things that

we can have.

So we buy

more stuff and

we save more

money.

And the more

stuff we buy and

the more money

we have, the

more aware we

are of how

easily we can

lose it all.

So we become

stressed and

anxious about

what if I do

lose it?

We believe

that security

and status

come from

having a higher

position in the

company, so we

work our way up

the corporate

ladder, but the

higher we get, the

more concerned we

are of who will I

be if I don't

have this job

anymore?

So we feel this

need to defend

ourselves and it's

us against the

world and we

become more and

more isolated from

the people around

us.

Our idols promise

us life and they

give us nothing

but anxiety,

stress,

isolation, and

death.

And our best

desires leave us

further and

further from where

we're trying to

get.

But the good

news is that

when Adam and

Eve sinned and

were kicked out of

the garden, God

did not abandon

this city.

No, the story of

the Bible says in

the last two

chapters of the

last book, the

book of Revelation,

that God has been

working on this

city, that one

day God's going

to send this city

back to his

people.

It's called the

new Jerusalem, the

new heavens and

the new earth.

And the last two

chapters of the

Bible describe this

incredible beauty and

incredible joy that's

going to exist in this

city.

And it's promised to

his people and yet we

still have this problem

of sin that keeps us

from getting in there.

And so the amazing

news of the gospel is

that in Jesus, God

himself steps down to

earth.

He becomes an exile

for us.

That in Jesus, God

suffers and pays the

punishment that each

of us deserves for

our sin.

He bears our

punishment himself so

that we can be given

access to this new

city of God.

Jesus perfectly

embodies every

command in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 29 · chapter mention

chapter 29 on our

behalf.

God bless.

He is the ultimate

one who seeks the

welfare of his city

and his people through

great sacrificial loss

to himself.

And it's only when we

properly understand the

amazing gift that we've

been given through

Jesus and the way that

he loved us sacrificially

that we will ever start

to love our city in the

way that we are called

to in this passage.

You know, if anyone here

is a fan of Les

Miserables, you know that

John Valjean was a

terrible man until he

received grace when he

was given the

candlesticks.

And yet after that,

that receiving grace

totally transformed his

life and turned him

into someone who sought

to transform the cities

where he lived and make

them better places for

everyone.

That's a picture of what

happens to us when we

understand the amazing

gift that we've been

given through Jesus.

And so if you continue

down in this passage,

verse 11, God tells

Israel, I know the plans

I have for you, declares

the Lord, plans for

welfare and not for

evil, to give you a

future and a hope.

That promise was true

for Israel and it was

intended to inspire them

to love the city where

they were living, knowing

that in the future God

would restore them to

their home.

And this promise is also

true for us, that God

has plans to give us a

future and a hope.

And that promise from

him is intended to give

us the strength that we

need to love the city

around us today.

And it doesn't start by

us trying harder to do

better, pulling ourselves

up by our own bootstraps.

It starts with turning to

him.

He says in verse 13, you

will seek me and find me

when you seek me with all

your heart.

That's where this process

starts.

So I want to take a couple

minutes to dream with you

about what this can look

like sort of at an on-the-

ground level in our real-life

world in Hong Kong.

There's a pastor in New

York, Timothy Keller.

He has a book called

Every Good Endeavor about

faith and work.

I think we have some

copies for it, copies of

it for sale outside.

In the intro to that book,

he goes through a number

of ways that we can seek

to transform the world

around us through our

work.

I want to just share a

couple of these with you

and then we'll look more

like practically to

specific situations.

This is going to be a

quick list, so if you're

taking notes, jot down

quick.

He says we can use our

work to further social

justice in the world.

In our jobs, we can

support others in the

Christian community

through the trials they

face at work and by

doing this, stick out as

a countercultural community

for the world around us to

see.

We can use the

relationships we build

through our work as

opportunities to share the

gospel with non-Christians.

we can recognize the

dignity of all work and do

any job, even the ones that

society would label as

menial, with an attitude of

joy because we know that we

are being used by God to

provide for the needs of the

others in our world.

We can use our work to help

shape and create a culture

that honors God and enables

people to thrive.

We can work to make lots of

money so that we can be really

generous and give it away, not

just to build our own big

houses, but for generosity's

sake.

And on a tangible level, what

do these things look like?

Let's say you're a manager or

a boss in an office.

How can you use your

influence to shape a culture

of welfare and thriving

within your office?

Here's one idea, possibility,

that hopefully can help you

dream a little bit.

Hong Kong is not known for

having a good work-life

balance.

I think that might be an

understatement a bit.

But there's this society and

expectation of constant work,

and if the boss is sending

emails at 3 a.m., there's an

expectation that the employees

are checking emails at 3 a.m.

How is the culture that you as

a manager or a boss are setting

for your people, enabling

them to thrive when it comes to

adequate amounts of rest and a

good work-life balance?

And how can you use your position

of influence in the company to

help shape that into a healthier

work-life balance so that your

people can thrive?

Maybe you're new in the office, and you're

like, well, I don't have that power.

That's true.

At this point in your career, you don't.

But one of the things I've seen is that the

further up the corporate ladder you get, the

more and more isolated it can feel.

And the new people, the entry-level jobs

and companies oftentimes are the ones who

are more likely to just go out for drinks

together after work to socialize

for a number of reasons.

Less responsibility at work and

probably no kids, less responsibility in

other areas in life.

Having that group around you that's

willing to actually spend time together

gives you amazing opportunities to get

to know the people you work with,

to build relationships, and to impact

people's lives on an individual level.

You know, when we think of culture, we

typically think of this big thing, but

in reality, there's not necessarily one

big thing called culture.

There's a number of micro-cultures in

the world.

And we each have an opportunity to

impact the micro-cultures that God has

placed us in.

So as an entry-level person in your

office, maybe your micro-culture that

you can impact is with other entry-level

people.

Or maybe it's in the way that you

treat your boss.

What if we're students and we're not

even in the workplace yet?

You know, again, Hong Kong is a very

me-centered place, especially when it

comes to school, because I'm in school

so that I can get the best grades, so

I can go to the top university and or

grad school and then get the top job,

hopefully in investment banking, maybe

as a doctor or a lawyer, but I need to

make my millions and school is my way

to do it.

But what if we learn to see our

studies as not just a way of impacting

our own futures, but of impacting the

world around us?

What if algebra isn't just something to

learn for a test, but a tool that God

gives you that you could use to tutor an

inner-city student who needs to learn for

their future?

What if poetry isn't just something to

analyze and memorize for exams, but it's a

tool that God gives to you to create

beauty and bring hope to a broken world

around you?

What if studying history isn't just

something we do because we have to at

school, but what if we learn to see it as

an invitation from God to step into the

story of history and impact the future to

create a better city for the people around

us, especially those who are typically

overlooked by society?

No matter where you are, whether you're

in a management position, entry level, a

student, a homemaker, unemployed, anywhere

else, God has placed each of us in the

exact place that he has us now because he

has a contribution that he wants us to

make for the transformation and welfare of

our city that we are uniquely equipped to

make based on where we are right now.

And even the small things we do can make a

huge difference.

Something like learning the name of the

security guard in your building or talking

to the secretary at your office gives

dignity to people who are normally overlooked

by society and can go a huge long way

towards transforming and impacting the

culture.

And I know me as a church worker standing up

here and just brainstorming is one thing, but

seeing it at work in everyday life is

something different.

So I have my friend Edmund Lee.

He's somewhere back there.

He's going to come up and share with us

briefly about what this has looked like in

his life and how God has used him to seek

the welfare and transformation of the city

through his job.

So welcome Edmund.

No chair today.

Sorry.

You can sit on the stage if you want.

Okay.

So can you introduce yourself to us and just

tell us what your job is?

Can you guys hear me?

Yeah?

Okay.

Well, it won't be recorded if you don't talk

into the mic.

Okay.

Hello, testing.

So I work in...

My name's Edmund.

I work in education, which is really just a

more pretentious way of saying I'm a teacher.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so what is your job involved or what will

you be doing tomorrow morning when you go into

the office?

Hopefully teaching.

Hopefully we'll do some teaching.

It does include a lot of lesson planning.

We have to mark homework.

We have to make the kids engage and have fun in

their education and wants to learn.

But really it's about creating a safe place to

steward God's children and hopefully turn

underdeveloped, well, underdeveloped people into

hopefully people sometime.

Yeah.

That's essentially what it is.

All right.

And you weren't always a teacher, right?

So what made you get into teaching?

So, yes, I wasn't always a teacher.

I guess what got me into teaching was talking to

students and talking to people in Hong Kong.

We tell people that they're important.

We tell people that they're loved, that what they

have to say is important.

We say that people have dignity.

We say that people have, well, they're valued.

But essentially we put them in a system where if they

don't get good academic grades, they're not important.

Where if they don't have certain skill sets, people

won't care about what they have to say.

If they're not successful academically, they're going

to fail in life.

We put kids in a system in Hong Kong especially where we say

education is so important to you and then we fail 82% of them

because only 18% will get to university.

And we read things like why is Hong Kong the most unhappy place

in Asia really.

And it's not surprising.

So for me, when I got into education, it was about what does

it look like to show people that they have dignity, that they're

dearly loved by God, that they're valued.

What does it look like to become a steward of people that helps them

go into community thinking that everyone is valuable?

And so how does your faith change the way that you view your job?

Sorry, I lost my place.

Well, oh, there we go.

Okay.

It's actually really difficult.

I think the hardest part about being a teacher is actually working

with kids when they don't want to be helped.

They look at you like you're the monster chasing after them for their

homework, for their tests.

You tell them to do the homework.

They don't do it.

And then you give them a C and then they ask why they don't have an A.

And these are conversations you have every single day.

But being Christian gives me perspective.

It helps remind me that, well, that they're sinners, really.

It helps remind me that I myself am a sinner that was chosen by God,

that was used by God.

And at the same time, students are people who just don't know Christ yet.

They're people who are learning what their value is.

They're trying to figure out life, and we all know that it's difficult.

They're trying to figure out where their value is,

and then they're being told by teachers and parents that it's in academics.

So when I look at them, I see people who need to learn what their value is.

And it gives me perspective.

It gives me a little more patience, a little more grace in how I deal with them

and a little more compassion, hopefully, because it's pretty important.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

And can you share a story of a way that God has used your work

to bring about the welfare or transformation of Hong Kong in a big or small way?

Yes.

That's good.

Be in trouble if he said no.

I hope so.

Well, like I said, the way I see teaching, it's about giving people value.

To be honest, it's really, really difficult as a teacher to see the impact of your work

because you never know how your students are going to turn out.

You never know if what you see is getting through to them,

and most of the time it feels like it does,

and then the next day it's just completely the opposite.

So when I look at teaching, I don't know how much I'm impacting them,

but I can tell you what my students have done for me, myself.

How, when I see them, how excited I am and how blessed I feel

to know that they love people.

How amazing it is to see students who are top students

who are willing to cut timeouts to help others.

How amazing it is to see people learn empathy

and help people who are in need.

They see a friend who is alone, sitting by themselves,

feeling undervalued, I guess, and talking to them.

So for me, when I look at that,

I get excited to see how some of these students

who are able to see a model of what it means to be loved and Christian,

what they would do.

So I don't know if I have impact right now,

but hopefully long term I can see my students

having a much greater impact than I could ever have.

All right.

I kind of want to try and experiment.

It could go terribly wrong, and we didn't plan this.

But I know that there are people here who are here today

because they or someone close to them had Edmund as a teacher.

And I think it would be cool if the church could see a little picture

of how God has worked through Edmund to transform even this church.

So if you're here today because you had Edmund as a teacher,

could you stand up or someone close to you?

Okay.

And then one more step.

If you're here today because of them

and the influence that they've had on your life,

can you also stand up?

Thank you.

Thank you.

So I think these guys are an awesome reminder to us

that even when we don't see necessarily the difference

that our work is making,

that God is definitely working through us

and using us for the transformation of our city.

And that, again, like we discussed today,

it doesn't start with us just trying harder and doing better,

but with us—yeah, sorry, you can sit down.

It doesn't start with us just trying harder to do better,

but with us learning to trust in God,

learning to rely on the gospel,

learning to understand how he's loved us through Jesus,

and then living out of that understanding

and seeking to love our city in that way.

So one last question for you.

How can we pray for you?

Well, one of the verses you mentioned earlier really hit me.

I've always thought about what does it mean to continue to be like David,

to be a man after God's own hearts.

And so I guess for me it's always keeping perspective

to be a man after God's own hearts.

What does it look like to be undignified so that God can be magnified?

And what does it mean to expect great things from God

and attempt great things for God?

So for me it's just to be faithful to all three of those things,

to be a man after God's own hearts in a system that may overlook it,

to continue to rely on him.

All right.

So if you're here and you're an educator,

we also want to pray for you so you can stand up.

Or if you're a student also in that education field

or someone who works with students,

can we get you to stand up so we can also pray for you?

So teachers, students, educators,

the youth should all be standing now.

Yes, Sunday school teachers, that too.

All right.

Let's pray.

God, we thank you for all the people that you've brought to us

who are somehow connected to this field of education

or impacting the next generation

or being impacted by those who have gone before us.

And we thank you for the opportunities

that you've given to all of us to impact our city

and to seek the welfare and transformation of the world around us.

I pray that we would be a people who seek you,

who, like Edmund says,

seek to be people of integrity,

to be people after your own heart,

who love you, who desire to love the city

because we've been loved by you first.

I pray that we would be a church

that is known as a people who love the people around us,

who seek the welfare of our city,

who seek for your name to be honored through our lives.

God, you're awesome.

You're great.

We thank you for the gospel.

We pray that you'd be with each of us as we go to work tomorrow,

that you'd empower us to love the people around us,

to seek their welfare,

and to work not just for our human bosses,

but mostly, first and foremost, for you.

And in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.