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More | Week 3 · Rewind

Rock Point Church

69 min

Pastor Bill Bush · Apr 25, 2018 · 5 min read · 69 min listen

The big idea

When we try to make work work for what it was never meant to work for, it won't work — but when we work for the Lord instead of for ourselves, everything can be different even if nothing changes.

In this message

The big idea
Point 1 of 7We're all living Solomon's Groundhog Day, chasing meaning in things that can't give it.
Point 2 of 7Trying to make work give you meaning will never work.

Point 3 of 7We chase work like a dog chasing a mechanical rabbit — and catching it reveals it was never real.
Point 4 of 7We distort work through be, buy, and because — making it our identity, our security, or our excuse.
Point 5 of 7God changes your attitude before He changes your address.
Point 6 of 7Do everything for God's glory, working for the Lord and not for people.
Point 7 of 7Serving the church is where employing your gifts God's way turns into real joy.
Take it into your week
Transcript

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Scripture in this message

Ecclesiastes 3
Ecclesiastes 2:18
Ecclesiastes 2:21
1 Corinthians 10:31
Philippians 4
Philippians 4:11

Rewind AI drafted the Big Idea and some point headings shown here from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Pastor Bill Bush · Apr 25, 2018 · 69 min watch · 2 min read

More | Week 3

In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

Ecclesiastes 3
Ecclesiastes 2:18
Ecclesiastes 2:21
1 Corinthians 10:31
Philippians 4
Philippians 4:11

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

When we try to make work work for what it was never meant to work for, it won't work — but when we work for the Lord instead of for ourselves, everything can be different even if nothing changes.

We're all stuck in a Groundhog Day, chasing meaning through work, achievement, and things that can never satisfy the eternity God planted in our hearts. The good news is Jesus can redeem our work when we stop asking it to give us identity and security, and instead choose to do it all for Him.

Key points

1
1We're all living Solomon's Groundhog Day, chasing meaning in things that can't give it.
Pastor Bill opens with the movie Groundhog Day and connects it to Ecclesiastes, written almost three thousand years earlier, showing that every generation gets up and runs after the same things looking for meaning and never finds it. He ties this back to Ecclesiastes 3, where God planted eternity in our hearts, meaning the longing for more is not the problem — how we try to fulfill it is.
2
2Trying to make work give you meaning will never work.
Working through Ecclesiastes 2:18-23, Pastor Bill shows Solomon's despair over hard work: you can't keep what you build, you can't protect it, and you can't even enjoy it because of the anxiety and restless nights that come with chasing achievement. He notes that the most successful people often carry the most anxiety, proving that arrival never delivers the peace we expect.
3
3We chase work like a dog chasing a mechanical rabbit — and catching it reveals it was never real.
He tells the story of watching greyhounds race after a fake rabbit at the track, and how a dog that actually catches the rabbit will never race again because it discovers the rabbit is meaningless metal. He applies this to Solomon, the wealthiest man in history, who caught every rabbit we chase and still found no meaning in it.
4
4We distort work through be, buy, and because — making it our identity, our security, or our excuse.
Pastor Bill names three ways work gets misused: finding our identity in what we do (be), finding security in what we can buy, and treating work as a necessary evil that wastes our time (because). Each one replaces God as the source of identity, security, and purpose, leaving us either overworking for more or giving up entirely.
5
5God changes your attitude before He changes your address.
He warns that prayers focused only on 'give me this' or 'get me out of this' show a misunderstanding of how God works, because God's aim is often to change us in the situation, not to change the situation itself. He uses Abraham Lincoln's line about praying to be on God's side, not asking God to be on ours, to illustrate the shift in posture needed.
6
6Do everything for God's glory, working for the Lord and not for people.
Pastor Bill moves rapidly through 1 Corinthians 10:31, Philippians 4:11-13, and Colossians 3:23 to show that contentment comes from working for God's glory and drawing on Christ's strength rather than deciding our own outcomes. He points out Colossians 3:23 was written to slaves, meaning even in the worst possible work situation, contentment is possible when you work as unto the Lord.
7
7Serving the church is where employing your gifts God's way turns into real joy.
He argues that God's plan for meeting people's needs is people, and that when Christians say they don't have time to serve, it's really a sign they're too busy with things God never asked them to do. He closes with his own college story of doing meaningless, low-paying work for a grieving widow, only to discover years later that showing up faithfully was really about loving her like Jesus, not about the work itself.

Application

Pastor Bill's charge is to stop making work work for what it was never meant to work for, and instead work for the Lord.

Stop finding your identity in what you do
Whether it's your job, your marriage, or being a parent, remember your worth is found in whose you are as a son or daughter of God, not in what you produce or achieve.
Quit chasing security through money and possessions
Let God be the one who provides through your work rather than trusting your paycheck or success itself, so you're not paranoid about losing what you've built.
Choose to work as unto the Lord, not people
Whatever your situation, even an unpleasant or unfair one, commit to doing your work for God's glory and let His strength produce contentment in it.
Examine your prayers for a rescue-me pattern
If your prayers are only 'give me this' or 'get me out of this,' recognize God is more interested in changing you in the situation than changing the situation itself.
Go find a place to serve
Stop claiming you don't have time and instead use your time, talent, and treasure to serve in the church body, starting with the volunteer tents outside this week.

Take it into your week

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“what we've already learned, what we've already seen is in Ecclesiastes chapter three, it says right there that God planted eternity in our hearts”
From the transcript
“So now he goes into talking about work in in in verse 18 is where I want to pick it up and says, so what is the problem? Why will work what happens”
From the transcript
“some people work wisely with knowledge, verse 21, and skill. Then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn't worked for it”
From the transcript
“First one. First Corinthians 10 verse 31. Paul's telling this group that was arguing about something about can we eat this food that was sacrificed to an idol”
From the transcript
“Philippians chapter four, the Philippians, they had helped him out with a gift when he was in a financial need, but he wanted to know, hey, I was in the scene”
From the transcript
“here's what he says in verse 11. Not that I was ever in need for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have”
From the transcript
“And here's what he said. He says, for I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength”
From the transcript
“And then in Colossians chapter three verse 23 says this, work willingly at whatever you do. Now he's saying work willingly at whatever you do. And then he as though you are working for the Lord rather than people”

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Day 1

There is something restless in all of us — a hunger that a promotion, a completed project, or a full bank account never quite satisfies. Pastor Bill named it plainly: we are all caught in a kind of cosmic Groundhog Day, chasing the same rabbit every generation. But here is the thing — the longing itself is not the problem. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has set eternity in the human heart. That ache you feel when achievement falls flat is not a malfunction; it is evidence of how you were made. You were wired for something that outlasts every deadline and every milestone. The tragedy is not that we long for meaning — the tragedy is that we keep trying to fill an eternal void with temporal things. Work, wealth, and achievement are real goods, but they are not big enough to carry the weight we put on them. Recognizing this is actually freeing. You are not failing because success has not satisfied you. You are simply running into the limits of what any created thing can do. That restlessness is an invitation — a signal pointing you back toward the One who put it there in the first place.

For reflection

Where in your life do you most feel that restless ache — and what have you been reaching for to quiet it?

Pray

Pray for honest awareness of the eternal longing God placed in you, and the courage to stop misdirecting it.

Day 2

Pastor Bill did not soften this passage, and it is worth sitting with its bluntness. You cannot keep what you build. You cannot fully protect it. And the grinding anxiety of maintaining what you have constructed can steal the very enjoyment you were working toward in the first place. Ecclesiastes 2:18-23 describes a person lying awake at night, full of grief over work — and most of us recognize that feeling, even if we would not have named it that way before. The Preacher is not saying work is worthless; he is saying work is not designed to be your ultimate security. When we demand from our careers or our accomplishments what they were never built to supply — permanence, protection, a sense that we finally made it — we set ourselves up for the anxiety described in this passage. The grief here is real, and the Teacher of Ecclesiastes is compassionate about it, not dismissive. Acknowledging that work has limits is not pessimism; it is honesty that clears the ground for something better. You can put your hands to real, meaningful work once you stop asking it to do the impossible.

For reflection

Can you identify a time when protecting or maintaining something you built actually drained your joy rather than added to it?

Pray

Pray for release from the pressure of making your work into a security system — and for trust in the One who actually holds your future.

Day 3

One of the sharper observations in Ecclesiastes is this: you work hard, you build something real, and then it passes into the hands of someone who did nothing to earn it. The Teacher calls this 'a great tragedy' and 'very discouraging.' That is a remarkably honest thing for Scripture to say. Pastor Bill used this to surface a deeper point — work distorts into something harmful when it becomes the primary way we establish who we are. If your identity is built on what you produce, then every setback is a verdict on your worth, and every success is a fragile thing that must be endlessly defended. The same goes for using work as a ladder to buy security, or treating it as a necessary evil you clock out of as fast as possible. All three of those postures put work in a place only God was meant to occupy. None of them are signs that you are a bad person; they are signs that you are a person trying to solve a real problem with the wrong tool. Today is a good day to ask honestly: which of these distortions feels most familiar to you? Naming it is not the same as being condemned by it — it is the beginning of a reorientation.

For reflection

Which of the three distortions — work as identity, work as security, or work as escape — do you most recognize in yourself right now?

Pray

Pray for clarity about which distortion has the strongest hold, and for the gentleness to look at it honestly before God.

Day 4

Pastor Bill anchored the turn of the whole sermon here: 'So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.' Whatever you do. That includes the work you love, the work you merely tolerate, and the work you are not sure counts as anything significant. The scope of this verse is breathtaking — it refuses to carve life into sacred and secular zones. Eating and drinking are about as ordinary as human activity gets, and Paul puts them in the same sentence as God's glory. Which means your Tuesday afternoon, your commute, your inbox — none of it is outside the reach of this reorientation. Pastor Bill was clear that this is the foundation, not an add-on. Doing everything for God's glory is not a spiritual garnish on top of your regular life; it is the restructuring principle that changes why you do what you do. And when the why shifts, the what starts to feel different — not necessarily easier, but more purposeful and less anxious. This is not about being less ambitious or less diligent; it is about redirecting those impulses toward something that does not disappoint.

For reflection

What is one specific task or role in your life that you have never consciously offered to God as an act done for His glory?

Pray

Pray for a willing heart to bring the ordinary parts of your week — not just the spiritual ones — under the principle of doing everything for God's glory.

Day 5

Paul writes from prison when he says, 'I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.' That word — learned — matters. Contentment is not a personality trait some people are born with; it is something cultivated through experience and through Christ. Pastor Bill made sure to point out that Paul wrote these words in circumstances that by any measure were not comfortable or fair. This passage is not a motivational poster; it is a testimony from someone whose contentment did not come from improved conditions. And then verse 13: 'I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.' In context, that 'everything' is primarily about enduring hardship and plenty alike without losing your footing. It is about staying whole when circumstances change — because they will, in both directions. The peace Paul describes is not the absence of difficulty; it is the presence of Christ inside the difficulty. That is a different kind of security than anything work or achievement can offer, and it is available regardless of where your career currently stands.

For reflection

What circumstance are you most waiting to change before you expect to feel content — and what would it look like to seek contentment there, as it is, right now?

Pray

Pray for the kind of contentment Paul describes — not as a feeling to manufacture, but as a gift to receive through dependence on Christ's strength.

Day 6

Pastor Bill spent real time on the original audience for this verse — people who had no choice about their work, no career ladder, no option to find more meaningful employment. 'Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.' If this reorientation was possible and commanded for them, it is possible in your context too. That is both challenging and deeply hopeful. The verse does not say to work for approval, for a raise, or for the relief of having it done. It says to work as though the Lord Himself is the one you are serving. That shifts the performance anxiety dramatically — you are no longer managing how you appear to a manager or measuring yourself against a colleague. You are simply doing the work in front of you with the gifts God gave you, for an audience of One. This is the practical hinge of everything the sermon built toward. It does not require a new job or a new title. It requires a new orientation, renewed probably more than once, every single day.

For reflection

What would change about how you approach your work tomorrow if you genuinely treated it as service to the Lord rather than to the people around you?

Pray

Pray for the daily, practical grace to reorient toward the Lord before you begin your work — and again when you lose the thread mid-day.

Day 7

We started this week with a restless longing and an honest look at what work cannot do. We end it here, holding the whole arc together. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes was not trying to make you despair — he was trying to break the spell of a lie that every generation believes: that if we just get the right job, build enough, achieve enough, we will finally feel settled. Pastor Bill's invitation was simple but costly: stop demanding too much from work, stop trying to escape it, and instead choose — every day, in whatever circumstance — to work as unto the Lord. This reorientation does not necessarily change your situation. It changes you. And when you employ the gifts God gave you the way He intended them to be used, you will find more genuine enjoyment in them than the rabbit ever provided. That is not a promise tied to perfect circumstances; it is a promise tied to the character of God. If this week stirred something in you — a desire to go deeper, to process it with someone, or to take a concrete next step in community — do not let that momentum sit. Bring it somewhere real: to God in prayer, to Scripture, and to people at Rock Point who can walk it out with you.

For reflection

Looking back over this week, what is the one shift in perspective or practice that feels most alive and worth carrying forward?

Pray

Pray for the courage to live out this reorientation in the ordinary week ahead — and for the grace to return to it every time you drift back toward the rabbit.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Think of the best job or project you've ever poured yourself into — and what it felt like when it was done. This message digs into why that feeling never quite lasts, and what God might be pointing us toward through it.

Discussion questions

1
In Ecclesiastes 2, the writer catalogs everything he built, earned, and achieved — and calls it meaningless. What do you think he means by that? Is he saying work itself is the problem?
2
Pastor Bill described three ways people distort work — using it to establish identity, to buy security, or treating it as something to endure and escape. Looking at those three together, which one do you think is most common in our culture, and why?
3
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has 'planted eternity in the human heart.' How does that idea help explain why chasing meaning through work always seems to leave people wanting more?
4
Paul writes in Philippians 4 that he has 'learned' contentment in every circumstance — including suffering. What does it mean that contentment is something learned rather than something that arrives when circumstances improve?
5
Colossians 3:23 was originally written to people who had no choice about their work at all. What does it look like, practically, for people today to work 'for the Lord rather than for people' — and how might that reorientation change the way a community like ours shows up together?
6
Pastor Bill said that God changes our attitude before He changes our address — and that the invitation is not necessarily different circumstances but a changed heart. What would it look like for us, as a group, to actually pray that way together?

Pray together

Asking God to reorient our hearts toward His glory in ordinary work, and to provide the contentment that circumstances alone never can

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Week 3 · 6 messages

Where these passages are preached

Ecclesiastes 3 Ecclesiastes 2 1 Corinthians 10 Philippians 4

Explore related topics

Contentment in Christ Identity in God Idolatry of Success Work and Meaning Work as Worship

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