True Christians in the Workplace - by Sanjay Poonen

True Christians
in the Workplace
Sanjay Poonen

First, some questions…
• Can you be on fire for God, yet still have a secular
job? Or is that just full-time Christian workers?
• Can you have a career at a corporate job?
• What do you when the Lord first gives you your
first paycheck? What is your attitude to money?
• Do you know that all Christians are called to be
leaders and shepherds? What does that mean?
• Is your life a compartmentalized spiritual vs.
professional life? Do you give God the dregs?
• Are you a friend of Christ on Sunday, and a friend
of the world the rest of the week?

Are you Sold Out for Jesus?

HEAD “YOU SHALL LOVE
THE LORD YOUR GOD
HEART WITH ALL YOUR
HEART, AND WITH
ALL YOUR SOUL, AND
WITH ALL YOUR MIND,
AND WITH ALL YOUR
LIMBS
STRENGTH.”
Mark 12:30

HEART, HEAD & LIMBS
Spirit, Soul and Body
• I Thess.5:23 (Living Bible): “May the God of peace
himself make you entirely pure and devoted to
God; may your spirit and soul and body be kept
strong and blameless until that day when our Lord
Jesus Christ comes back. God, who called you to
become His child, will do all this for you, as he
promised.”

• SPIRIT: pure, sensitive to Holy Spirit for God to use.
• MIND: renewed and alert for God to use.
• BODY: healthy and surrendered for God to use.

Values, Goals, Decisions
Values define
Decisions who you are,
for your life
Goals

Values

Goals you set
for short or long Decisions you
periods of time make every day
of your life

Daniel’s Three Friends’ Values

What Values did Jesus teach
His disciples

Eric Liddell’s Values
(1902-45)

Those who honor
me I will honor
1 Samuel 2: 30

Leaders are Shepherds
WANTED: More Shepherds for the Kingdom
• Matt 9:36: “Seeing the people Jesus felt compassion for them,
because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without
a shepherd”

• Zech 10:2: They are seeking all kinds of impure advice, from
psychologists or false preachers (modern day diviners)

• Zech 11:17: Or the Lord has given them a shepherd’s
responsibility and they shun it

• John 10:12: “The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before
himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a
real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf
coming and he runs away, leaving the sheep to be ravaged by
the wolf. The sheep don’t matter to him”

My Values
1. My life on earth is like vapor; I am a citizen of heaven

You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a
vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away
(Jam 4:13-15)

For many walk… whose god is their appetite, whose glory is their
same, whose end is destruction…But our citizenship is in heaven…
(Phil 3:20)

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people
for God’s own possession…I urge you as aliens and strangers to
abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul…
(1 Pet 2:9-12)

NOTE: For some of these Values, see also the website of
Pat Gelsinger where some of these values were inspired from

My Values
2. I will work hard in everything that I do. If the Lord grants
me success, I will fall on my knees in humility, praying
for grace to be faithful

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than
for men…
(Col 3:23)

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, attend to your own
business and work with your hands…
(1 Thes 4:11)

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for
GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE
HUMBLE… humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that
He may exalt you at the proper time…
(1 Pet 5:5)

Is Prayer like a Vending
Machine to you?

Values

Decisions
Goals

Values

My Values
3. I will be a light on a hill, salt in the food, keeping my
Christian behavior excellent, so others can glorify God

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless,
how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men… You are
the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; Let your
light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven…
(Matt 5:13-16)

Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven…
(Matt 5:20)

My Values
4. I will be open to the direction of the Holy Spirit wherever
it might lead, whatever it leads me to speak and act

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things, and bring to
your remembrance all that I said to you…
(John 14:26)

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season, reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with patience and instruction…
(2 Tim 4:2)

My Values
5. I will be generous with the seed the Lord has given me

Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will
supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest
of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all
liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God…
2 Cor 9:10-11)

The purpose of tithing: to always put God first (Duet 14:22,23)

Give cheerfully: God loves a cheerful giver… (2 Cor 9:7);

Give everything: none of you can be My disciple who does not give
up all his own possessions… (Luke 14:33)

Financials matters

Those who love money go the way of
Lot, Gehazi, Balaam, Demas
Matt 19:23, 24: “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, it
is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God."
NOTE: Please also read Chap 3 of Practical Discipleship
by Zac Poonen, for more details on this particular topic

Financials matters
• We cannot serve two masters: Luke 16:13
– No worker can serve two bosses: He'll either hate the first and
love the second. Or adore the first and despise the second. You
can't serve both God and the Bank.

• Voltaire said, “Christians of all denominations are the
same when it comes to money”

• Heaven has been prepared for those who have learnt to
put money under their feet on earth.

• Balance in how we treat money and all earthly assets
– Jesus provided abundance of wine, yet fasted for 40 days.
– Luke 9:58: “"The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Financials matters
• If the Lord has given you much, use it to bless the others

• Rom 16:11: Priscilla and Aquila opened their house IN
ROME to Paul and the church. “Greet Priscilla and
Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life
risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give
thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; also
greet the church that is in their house’

• Luke 8:1-3: Women supported Christ financially too!
– Mary (called Magdalene), 7 demons had been driven out of her
– Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household;
– Susanna; and many others.

• Matt 27: 57-60: Joseph of Arimathea, disciple of Jesus
– Isaiah 53:9: His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He
was with a rich man in His death.

My Values
6. I will do nothing out of selfish ambition
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do
not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that
which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and
every evil thing…
(James 3:14-16)

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or
absent, to be pleasing to Him, for we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for
his deeds in the body, according to what he has done…
(2 Cor 5:9-10)

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own
business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you…
(1 Thes 4:11)

My Values
7. I will be a servant-leader. I will not seek my own glory,
instead I will seek to honor God and praise / encourage
/ improve those around me, above me, beneath me.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind
regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely
look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of
others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with
God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross…
(Phil 2:3-9)
We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted,
help the weak, be patient with everyone…
(1 Thes 5:14)
Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you
to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so
that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ…
(Rom 15:5-6)

My Values
8. I will be careful with all my words and actions.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his
tongue but deceives his own heart, his religion is worthless…
(James 1:26)

Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the
thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of
your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of
judgment…
(1 Pet 2:12)

My Values
9. I will seek the counsel of others frequently. I will make
the godly my heroes

Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel
and watch them succeed…
(Prov 15:22)

I will make the godly my heroes and invite them to my home…
(Psalm 101:6)

Time and Stress Management

• What do we do with free-time:
Learn from the ant: Prov 6:6-11
You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach
you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All
summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles
provisions. So how long are you going to laze around
doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap
here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back,
take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this:
You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your
permanent houseguest!

Time and Stress Management

• When under pressure:
We can pray to the God who helped Joseph, Daniel
interpret dreams under intense time pressure

• Matt 11:28-29:
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Come to me. Get
away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to
take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I
do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay
anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me
and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

My Values
10. I will be on fire for God, seeking to be a change agent,
not satisfied with the status quo

I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named,
so that I would not build on another man's foundation…
(Rom 15:20)

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you
were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor
cold, I will spit you out of My mouth…
(Rev 3:15-16)

What are your Values
• What top 5 values do you stand for?

• Can you live by godly Christian values at
your workplace, whether you are
successful by earthly standards or not?

• What do you want to pray before the Lord
that He will help you change in 2012?

Goals

Decisions
Goals

Values

Goals: What are they?
1 Cor 9 : 27
I discipline my body and make it
my slave, so that, after I have
preached to others, I myself will
not be disqualified.

2 Tim 4 : 8
In the future there is laid up for
me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will award to me on that
day; and not only to me, but
also to all who have loved His
appearing

Goals: What are they?
James 1 : 12
Blessed is a man who perseveres
under trial; for once he has been
approved, he will receive the crown
of life which the Lord has promised
to those who love Him.

1 Peter 1: 6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, even
though now for a little while, if
necessary, you have been
distressed by various trials, so that
the proof of your faith, being more
precious than gold which is
perishable, even though tested by
fire, may be found to result in
praise and glory and honor at the
revelation of Jesus Christ

What are your Goals
• What should a Christian’s goals be?
– Seek FIRST the kingdom of God
– Make Jesus LORD of our lives
– Carry me higher, Lord (NOT in the corporate world)
Matt 16:26 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the
whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man
give in exchange for his soul?”

• Should you have goals in your professional job?
– Subject to the Lord, knowing they may be changed
– Your bosses’ heart is in the Lord’s hands
Proverbs 21:1 “The kings hearts is like channels of
water in the hand of the Lord”

My Goals
1. Make Jesus Lord of my Life - absolutely, continuously
2. Make my marriage an example of Scriptural marriages
3. Spend quality & quantity time with my family. Train my
children, praying they become disciples of Jesus
4. Continually be in the Word of God; memorize Scripture
as often as possible; be in tune with the Holy Spirit
5. Fast and Pray regularly – Eat and Exercise regularly
6. Provide generously and liberally to the people of God
7. Pray that the Lord will bless our weekly Bible Study
8. Always seeking to learn, teach others what I learn
9. Do as well in my profession as the Lord allows me to
10. Write a book exploring the things God has taught me
through my Christian and professional life

Decisions

Decisions
Goals

Values

Decisions:
We are constantly making them
• Wisdom from above vs. folly of this earth
(Jam 3:13-18)
– Pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable,
full of mercy and good deeds,
unwavering, without guile

• Sheep among wolves. Shrewd as
serpents, yet gentle as doves
(Matt 10:16)

• Deeds of the flesh vs. Fruits of the Spirit
(Gal 5:19-24)
– Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control

I’d Rather Have Jesus
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.

Than to be a king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway,
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.


He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out of the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.


True Christians in the Workplace - by Sanjay Poonen

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True Christians in the Workplace - by Sanjay Poonen