Today we are completing our four-week series called Relationships Righted. You can access our messages at COTNAZ.org, WATCH/LISTEN ONLINE.
Over the last three weeks we have focused on relationships and focusing on “putting God first in our lives” so that our life is a living testimony to the LORD.
Today we are going to focus on relationships in the workplace. Can we truly worship God in the workplace and build and nurture relationships with our co-workers and bosses so that we point them to Christ?
Let us pray.
“Dear Lord, I stand before You and Your people, acknowledging that every breath and every hour of labor is a gift from Your hand.
As we discuss the 90,000 hours we spend at work and in service, convict and encourage everyone here. Let us be faithful stewards of this message.
Father, we bring our work-weeks—the exhaustion, the ambitions, and the anxieties—into this sanctuary. Perform a deep work within us today.
Transform our Hearts to see coworkers and neighbors not as obstacles, but as people to be loved in Your name.
Transform our Minds to stop seeing work as ‘secular’ and start seeing it as ‘sacred’—an offering of excellence to You.
Transform our Souls to find our identity not in titles or paychecks, but in our status as Your beloved children.
Lord please commission us. Move us beyond being ‘Sunday Christians.’ Equip us to represent Christ in the workplace and the neighborhood.
May we leave here seeing our labor not as a burden, but as a mission field.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.”
We just prayed for God to transform our hearts, our minds, and our souls.
And friends, we need that transformation because of one staggering, inescapable number: 90,000. (Say NINETY THOUSAND slowly!)
That is the number of hours the average person will spend working and volunteering over their lifetime.
If our faith is only active during the one hour we spend here on Sunday, we are leaving 90,000 (Say NINETY THOUSAND slowly) hours of our lives—nearly one-third of our existence—untouched by the Gospel.
We often think of ‘mission trips’ as something we do for a week or two in a far-off place. But the greatest mission field you will ever enter is the one you walk into every Monday morning.
There are 90,000 opportunities to represent Jesus Christ to a world that watches us more closely at the office than they ever will in the pews.
Today, we’re going to look at how the Holy Spirit reclaims those hours for the Kingdom of God.
If we are going to spend 90,000 hours in the marketplace, we need more than a career strategy; we need a divine mandate.
The Apostle Paul addressed this directly in two different letters—one to the church in Colossae and one to the church in Ephesus.
At the very moment Paul wrote these words, he was sitting in a prison cell. He wasn’t writing from a position of power or comfort; he was writing under the weight of chains.
In the following passages from Colossians and Ephesians, you’ll hear Paul use the language of his time—the language of “slaves” and “masters.”
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)
So, I have to ask you: Who is your “Real Boss”?
When we look at Colossians 3, we see that even if your supervisor is difficult or your workplace is chaotic, your ultimate accountability is to Jesus.
Paul reminds us that the ultimate “reward” doesn’t come from a weekly paycheck or a commission check; it comes as an “inheritance” from the Lord.
This single shift in perspective transforms 90,000 hours of drudgery into 90,000 hours of devotion.
Let’s pause here for a moment of honest reflection. (Pause)
Have you ever worked alongside a Christian whose attitude or work ethic made you want anything but Jesus?
How about…Have you ever seen someone carry a Bible into the breakroom but leave their integrity at the time clock?
Now, let’s make this personal.
Let’s turn the mirror around: If your coworkers’ only exposure to the Gospel was your performance this past week, what version of Jesus would they believe in?
But Paul doesn’t stop at redefining who we serve; he expands the scope of what we do. He doesn’t say “whatever you do in the church” or “whatever you do on the mission field.” Instead, he uses the Greek word pas.
In the original text, pas means “all, every, or whatsoever.” It is an all-encompassing word that leaves nothing out. This includes:
- The emails you send
- The floors you mop
- The meetings you lead
- The cars you repair
If it is worth doing, it is worth doing for God. …In the life of a believer, there is no hierarchy of holiness in the 90,000 hours of a career. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing for God.
Look at the card that was given to you this morning when you entered. If you didn’t receive a card, please raise your hand and someone will bring you one.
This card represents your mission field starting tomorrow morning. It’s easy to think of a ‘mission field’ as a place across the ocean, but for most of us, it’s a cubicle, a classroom, or a construction site.
Ask yourself this question: When you walk into that ‘field’ tomorrow—whether that is your physical arrival through a door or your face appearing on a Zoom meeting—do you bring a presence that draws people toward Christ, or a spirit that pushes them away?
Does your arrival feel like an answer to prayer or just a new source of stress for your team?
And for those of you who are retired, this is just as personal for you. When you walk into the hospital room to visit a friend, or into the kitchen for Sunday lunch with your grandkids, what ‘atmosphere’ do you bring with you?
Does your presence bring the ‘refreshment’ of a seasoned soul, or does it bring the ‘smoke’ of a grumbling spirit? Your mission field hasn’t closed; the doors have just changed.
This leads us to Paul’s core strategy for the mission field. He calls us to work ek psychēs (Pronounced ECK Sigh-KAYS)—literally, ‘from the soul.’
Don’t miss this: When you work from the soul, you aren’t just performing a task; you are projecting an atmosphere.
You are bringing the very life of Christ into the room through the quality of your labor and the posture of your heart.
It’s not just about what your hands are doing; it’s about where the work is coming from.
This isn’t just about being a high producer; it’s about being intentional with every soul we encounter in those 90,000 hours.”
Working with “all your heart” means that your work is a reflection of your soul’s health. You aren’t just giving the company your time; you are giving God your best.
This is the most radical part: Paul tells the worker to look past their earthly supervisor.
Your boss might be ungrateful, your company might be disorganized, and your volunteer post might be frustrating.
But when you realize your Audience is One, the pressure to please people fades, and the joy of pleasing God takes over.
Let me apply this theological concept to our ordinary lives in 2026, the Monday reality in which we all face every week.
To the Teacher: If you are a teacher or a coach, your hours aren’t just about lesson plans or wins and losses.
Worship looks like seeing the ‘difficult’ student not as a disruption to your day, but as an image-bearer of God who needs grace.
When you stay late to help a child who is struggling—not because the administration is watching, but because your CEO, Jesus, loves that child—that is an act of worship.
To the Contractor: If you are a contractor, a plumber, or an engineer, your worship is found in the integrity of your craft. It’s the wire you tuck away neatly behind a wall where no one will ever see it.
You do it with excellence because you aren’t just building for a client; you are building for the Lord.
To the Healthcare Worker: For the nurse, the doctor, or the volunteer at the hospice center, your worship is found in the sincerity of your presence.
You aren’t just ‘checking vitals’; you are tending to the temple of the Holy Spirit.
To the Retired, I know some of you are thinking, ‘Pastor, my 90,000 hours of career labor are behind me. I’m retired. Does this still apply to me?’
Absolutely. In God’s Kingdom, there is no such thing as retiring from the mission. You aren’t ‘retired’; you are repurposed.
For those of you who are in this season, I MUST ask:
- Are you using your freedom to build the Kingdom, or have you ‘retired’ from being a witness?
- Who are you intentionally pouring your wisdom into right now, so that they can find refreshment instead of drowning in the stress of their 90,000 hours?
For you, worship tomorrow might look like:
- The way you treat the cashier at the grocery store.
- The intentional way you pray for your grandkids.
- The way you volunteer your time to mentor a younger person.
You have a lifetime of wisdom to offer. You can be the refreshment to a younger generation that is stressed and burned out.
You aren’t just ‘finished’ with your hours; you are the seasoned veteran on the team, bringing peace and encouragement to your neighborhood and your family.
While Colossians is about the fire in our hearts, Ephesians is about the faithfulness of our habits.
Ephesians 6:5-9:
5 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”
Paul warns us against ‘Performance Mode.’ This is the habit of working hard only when you are being watched, or doing the right thing just to win favor with people. In 2026, we call this ‘Performative Labor’ or ‘Image Management.’
Paul’s counsel is to work with ‘sincerity of heart.’ This means your character at 2:00 PM on a Tuesday—when you are exhausted, alone, and no one is looking—should be identical to your character here on a Sunday morning.
Let’s be honest for a moment: Is there a disconnect between the person in this pew and the person at your desk?
If your boss or your coworkers were sitting next to you today, would they recognize the person they see on Sunday mornings—or would they be shocked to find out the ‘Christian’ they never knew they employed?
Now, let’s make this personal. Let’s turn the mirror around: If your coworkers’ only exposure to the Gospel was your performance this past week, what version of Jesus would they believe in?
True integrity isn’t a performance for a human boss; it’s a lifestyle lived before God.
Paul’s counsel to the employee/volunteer is: Don’t work for the ‘Like’ or the ‘Favor.’ If you only work hard when you are being watched, you aren’t serving Christ; you are serving your own reputation.
Colossians tells us to work because we love God; Ephesians tells us to work because we represent God.
When we combine them, our integrity becomes our greatest sermon.
While Paul gives us a high calling in Ephesians to work with ‘sincerity of heart,’ the Book of Proverbs gives us a very blunt warning about the opposite.
Proverbs 10:26 (The Message):
“A lazy employee will give you a splitting headache; he’s like a mouthful of sand.”
Also translated as: “A lazy employee is the sand in the gears of a team and the smoke in the eyes of the boss.”
Think about that imagery.
On a job site or a football field, a sandpit is a trap. It slows everyone down.
When you do the bare minimum, when you are unreliable, or when you bring a toxic attitude to the office, you are the sandpit that makes everyone else’s job harder.
Smoke makes your eyes sting. It makes it impossible to see clearly. When you only work hard when you’re being watched, you become a source of irritation. You are clouding the vision of the whole organization.
If you want to have the right to speak to your coworkers about the Gospel, you must first earn their respect through your labor.
A believer who is an ‘irritation’ to their boss closes the door to their mission field.
Ask yourself this question…Are you currently the ‘sand in the gears’ of your office—someone who slows the team down with complaints, excuses, or unreliability?
Or are you a breath of fresh air on a blistering hot day—the person the boss relies on when everything else is falling apart?
Are you a refreshment? When you walk in, you shouldn’t just be filling a seat; you should be changing the atmosphere.
We see this today in C.J. Stroud, who in 2026 remains a household icon not just for the power of his arm, but for the posture of his altar.
He proves that when you work ‘from the soul,’ people notice your Source as much as your talent.
Stroud’s teammates publicly called him the “light in the room.” When the Texans faced a three-game losing streak in late 2025, C.J. didn’t resort to performing for the cameras.
He didn’t put on a show for the media while grumbling in the locker room. Instead, he worked with a ‘sincerity of heart.’
He stayed late, encouraged his teammates behind closed doors, and took personal responsibility. He proved that his work ethic wasn’t tied to the scoreboard or public opinion, but to his commitment to the Master.
His coach, DeMeco Ryans, noted that C.J.’s influence wasn’t just about his stats; it was about the consistent character he brought to the facility every single day, win or lose.
In fact, DeMeco Ryans stated that the team’s success was a direct reflection of the players’ ‘belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’
To see exactly what that kind of ‘drafted’ character looks like in action, let’s watch this video.
C.J. Strout interview 2 mins: All Glory to God 1_52.mp4
That is what it looks like to play for the Master.
Look also at Justice Amy Coney Barrett. In 2026, she sits on the highest court in our land—a workplace that is often a storm of political “smoke.”
It would be easy for her to slip into “Performance Mode” to please the crowds, or to become a “people-pleaser” just to quiet the critics. Instead, she operates with a quiet strength.
You might ask, “How do I personally know this to be true about her when I don’t know her as a friend?”
I know it the same way the rest of our nation does: through the steady, unwavering frequency of her reputation.
Even from a distance, her life sends a clear signal.
Whether she is celebrated or criticized, she remains a trustworthy messenger because she isn’t working for the “likes” of the culture; she is working for the Lord.
She views her hours as a stewardship of God’s justice. Her identity isn’t found in her black robe; it’s found in her white robe of righteousness in Christ.
Her reputation speaks to our nation because her witness is consistent even when the cameras are off.
Church, tomorrow morning, you are walking back onto your own “field.”
Don’t be the ‘Smoke. If we are irritable, uncooperative, we cloud the vision. As followers of Christ, our goal is to clear the air. I challenge you to be the ‘Refreshment.’
Whether you are clocking in at an office or meeting a friend for coffee in retirement, you have a mission: be the one in your circle who stays consistent when the pressure is on.
You don’t need a title to influence the culture of your family, your neighborhood, or your workplace. When things get heated or people get discouraged, be the refreshment that brings clarity and peace.
Proverbs 25:13 says: “Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.”
Work with such “High Integrity” and “Quiet Strength” that your boss finds refreshment in your reliability. Be the “light in the room” when the project fails or the deadline is missed.
Our mission statement says: ‘Transformed by God to bring Hope to others.’ This transformation begins in the heart. If you have a job, you have a calling. There is no such thing as a secular job.
Tomorrow morning, you aren’t just starting a new week; you are continuing an act of worship.
Don’t go in there trying to blend in. Be who God made you to be. Let the ‘Sunday you’ be the ‘Monday you.’ Remember: Integrity is consistency. Your daily work is deeply important to your God.
I want us to take a stand together in unity.
Whether you are a teacher, a mechanic, a nurse, a stay-at-home parent, a retiree, or an executive, everyone in this room has a mission field.
Right now, I want to ask this entire team to stand up.
Look at the person to your left and right. This isn’t just a crowd; this is your team. This is a team committed to working ek psyches (Pronounced ECK Sigh-KAYS). We aren’t just doing a job; we are working from the soul.
Now, I’d like to invite you to reach out and place a hand on the shoulder of the person next to you. You are not walking into your week alone.
Release that shoulder and hold your hands out in front of you, palms up. These are the tools of your worship.
Now as you look at your hands, I want you to stop and ask yourself these two questions:
- Lord, what will these hands build this week that will last for eternity?
- Who will I touch with Your grace, and who will I serve with Your excellence?
Let us pray:
“Dear Lord, look at this team and look at these hands. We are Your people, heading out into the mission field of this Valley. (Pause)
Father, I pray for the mechanic under the car, the accountant at the screen, and the retiree serving their neighbor—let their integrity be a refreshment to everyone they meet.
I pray for the teacher and the nurse—let them see every person as an image of You.
Today, we choose to be the refreshment. Holy Spirit, give them Your POWER! Remind them that they work for the King of Kings. In the Name of Jesus, we pray… AMEN!”
As we close, take a look at the card. This isn’t just a piece of paper; it’s your Playbook for the next six days.
Look at the front: ‘Drafted by God. Playing for His Glory.’ Whether you are in a boardroom, a classroom, or a season of retirement—that is your identity this week.
You haven’t just been ‘hired’ or ‘assigned’; you have been hand-picked by God for this moment.
Colossians 3:23 tells us to work with all our heart for the Lord.
Flip that card over. Tomorrow is Monday, and your mission is simple: Be the Spark.
Put this on your dashboard or your fridge where you’ll see it every morning.
Now… go out there. Bring the fire. Bring the hope. Our community is waiting—go give them Jesus! Let’s take the field for Jesus!! You are dismissed.