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