How to be blessed at home and at school

Read Colossians 3:25–4:1 “For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”

Introduction

It’s only been 2 weeks into the new year!

Is it going well?

Is it starting to become the same old?

Whether it’s going well or not, one thing for sure, is that nothing works without the proper foundation. (picture of a house foundation)

Jesus talks about a good foundation in Matt 7:25

Matthew 7:25 (ESV)

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

Jesus then explains a bad foundation in Matt 7:26-27

Matthew 7:26–27 (ESV)

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Why is building a house on sand a bad idea? (ask)

Because sand is not structured.

Sand shifts and moves.

That’s why the most important step in building something begins with what you are building it on.

That’s because the foundation, while you can’t see it, is what holds up everything together.

Students, without the proper foundation, the proper structure, in your life, you cannot consistently have a good year.

Your life will look much more like this (picture of unstable stocks).

Than this (picture of positive stock growth).

So today, the title of our sermon is How to be blessed at home and at school.

So that your life will be more stable and God honoring this year!

1. Have a biblical structure at _____ (v.18-21)

1. Have a biblical structure at home (v.18-21)

Just like how you can’t see the foundation of a house,

People usually can’t see your life at home.

And having a biblical structure begins at home.

So Paul starts with the most the nucleus of the home: the marriage.

The husband and wife.

Your parents.

Without a biblical structure in the marriage, it is impossible for a family, the home to flourish.

So Paul writes in v.18, ‘wives, submit to your own husbands,’

Now, what you just heard, is probably the most anti-cultural statement, that you will hear in a while.

‘A woman submitting to a man?’

‘Are we in the dark ages?’ You might be thinking.

First of all note that Paul said, wives submit to your own husbands.

He’s not saying that women are to submit to all men at all times and all places.

Second of all, the meaning of submit.

The word submit is a special word.

It is different than obey that we see in v.20, ‘children obey’.

Here’s the difference:

Submission is the voluntary act of following leadership.

Obedience is the unconditional surrender to commands. (write that down/repeat)

Obedience is like a soldier obeying a general. (picture)

Whatever the general says, goes.

Submission is like when you are playing or a game or a sport (show picture)

and your friends gives an idea for a game winning play and you follow along.

So your mom is not to obey your father, but she is to submit to him.

Why?

Because as Paul writes, ‘as is fitting in the Lord’.

Because it is the right thing to do as Christ submitted.

The greatest example of submission is Christ.

When Jesus sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane knowing that He was to face the most painful death and also the wrath of God for our sins, He said in Luke 22:42

Luke 22:42 (ESV)

saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

That is submission, students.

Jesus voluntarily decided to follow the Father.

So does that make Jesus weaker or less important than the Father?

No!

Submission is a unique role equally as important as leading.

God created men and women equally but with different roles.

This is something our culture today does not understand.

Now, Paul goes on to address the other half: the husband.

He writes in v.19, ‘husbands, love your wives’

It may not seem like it, but this is another very different message than our culture believes today.

In Paul’s time, marriage was seen only to have children and pass the inheritance.

Today, marriage is seen only purely for pleasure and romance.

And when that feeling of romance runs out, move on to the next marriage.

That’s what our society sees as love today.

But biblical love is based on unconditional sacrifice.

That regardless if the husband feels like it or not, he will choose to sacrifice for the good of his wife.

What that also means is that the husband will at times have to let go of what he wants and choose what is best for his wife and his family instead.

God never created marriage for the husband to be a dictator but to be a servant leader.

And what’s unique about this godly command, is not that there is no romance or feeling at all, but there is.

It’s just that biblical love is selfless and giving, no matter the lack of feeling or hard it is to do.

In fact it can be hard to do.

That’s why Paul writes, ‘and do not be bitter toward them’.

Because in marriage it is the union of 2 human beings.

2 imperfect people.

And sometimes the wife won’t want to submit to her husband, and that can irritate her husband.

But a godly husband, will go beyond merely being gentle and nice to his wife, but to even not let his negative feelings toward his wife fester and plague him.

And you’re probably thinking, Pastor Brandon, none of us here are married, we’re far too young for this, how does this apply to me?

2 things:

First, many of you will have your own family one day.

And as you date and pursue a godly spouse, you need to reflect this godly structure in marriage in how you treat your potential future spouse, in order to successfully get married.

Second, when you see the love between your parents.

You need to thank God and appreciate what their marriage symbolizes.

It symbolizes the love of Christ for his church.

Ephesians 5:31–32 (ESV)

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

The loving submission of a wife to her husband, symbolizes our submission as the church to Christ.

And the loving leadership of the husband, reflects Christ’s willingness to sacrifice himself for our good as His followers.

Next, Paul moves on to the children.

You, students.

He writes in v.20, ‘Children, obey your parents in all things’

While Paul started off with parents in first two verses, he then explains the biblical structure between parents and children.

In fact he is quoting the 5th commandment, Exodus 20:12

Exodus 20:12 (ESV)

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

The reason I underlined this part of the 5th commandment, is this is a principle of blessing from God Himself, when you obey your parents.

God promises a longer life to children who obey their parents.

Now there are exceptions unfortunately to children who die young.

But the biblical principle is that children who obey their parents live longer.

And that’s because by obeying your parents, you are applying the lessons from the mistakes your parents made, which naturally leads to a more successful and longer life.

And how about the simple financial support, gifts, and emotional nurturing from them?

Some of you know this, that when you obey your parents, they gift you with things.

I’m not saying obey them, so your parents can go buy you things, but rather this is a real example of what happens when you obey your parents, that you yourselves have experienced!

But there is a greater motivation than just a longer life, and nicer shoes.

Paul writes, ‘for this is well pleasing to the Lord.’

The true reason that you need to obey your parents, is because it makes God happy.

It pleases Jesus.

Because Jesus himself, as the perfect child, also obeyed His parents,

when had every excuse to not obey them.

Jesus was smarter than His parents, He was stronger than His parents, He could do any miracle He wanted to.

And yet He obeyed them, because this is God’s structure in the home.

We come to the last verse of a biblical structure in the home.

Paul writes in v.21, ‘Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.’

Oh, parents!

And parenting!

Sometimes it can be a great joy, and sometimes great pain to experiencing parenting!

That’s exactly why God wrote this verse!

God understands the difficulty that you go through as a child!

It’s not easy!

Just as husband and wife have ideas and fantasies about how their significant other ought to be,

parents also have ideas and dreams for their kids.

You may or may not relate to everything I’m about to say:

But I’d like to talk about my parents as an Asian(show grade picture)

You may or may not have seen some funny things online about Asian parents, but as an Asian child growing up with Asian parents,

I can say the demand for perfect grades at all times is very true!

Some of you might also experience this, whether you are Asian or not!

And while it can make us become skilled at working hard, it can also be painful!

Look students, you are not parents.

But I want you to take encouragement in the fact that God knows, and cares for you when parenting can be a little challenging.

And also, you are not to use this Bible verse as a weapon against your parents. (repeat)

You job is to focus on obeying your parents, and trust the Lord with what happens next.

Because one of the reasons that God commands you to obey your parents,

is because overall, your parents love you and have your best interest at heart.

More often than not, you do not understand why your parents are telling you to do something when it’s for your good

and that’s why God wants you to simply obey them.

You are still young and learning new things, and there things you don’t know and understand, that your parents do, and often there is no time to explain why to you all the time.

So obey them, because it please Jesus Christ.

If you want to be blessed at home, have a biblical structure at home.

2. Have a biblical structure at ____ and at _______ (v.22:4-1)

2. Have a biblical structure at work and at school (v.22:4-1)

This is what we see in these final verses.

In v.22, Paul writes, ‘bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh,’

This was written in a time of Roman slavery, which is a different time, and different than American slavery.

But the general principle here:

is to obey those in authority over you.

This is why this verse applies to everyone in this room, including me.

You don’t have to be someone’s child in order to apply this.

God also has a structure for us at work and at school.

And this is how it should look, ‘not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.’

Have you ever started working a little harder, or put your phone away and start acting like you’re doing something when your teacher is watching you? Raise your hand!

I’ve done this!

We’ve all done this!

But God is telling us that we are not to work or study in order to be people pleasers.

But we are to do it out of fear for God: a love and godly respect for Him.

Because God is always watching us.

How much harder should you work, knowing that your teacher or boss is not around to watch you all the time, but God is?

That’s why Paul writes in the next verse, v.23, ‘and whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men’

What this is saying is that you should work or study, not with a fake attitude, but like you truly mean it.

As Christians, you need to be more real and harder working than those around you.

Because you are working and studying for the Lord Jesus Christ, not merely your boss or parents.

And our hard work represents that we work and study for the Lord.

Work and study for the Lord, students.

Because the Lord is good and He rewards us.

Paul writes in v.24, ‘knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.’

If you are a Christian listening today, you know that the Lord Jesus has the wonderful reward of eternal life waiting for you in heaven

because of what He did on the cross for you!

How joyful, and hopeful it is, to know that no matter happens, even if you were to somehow die today, that you will be with Jesus forever?!

When you keep your eyes on the prize:

the Lord Jesus, working hard, and studying hard becomes a pleasure to do!

So students, don’t be lazy in your work or studies.

Don’t only work hard when people are watching and then slack off.

Work and study hard for the Lord.

You see, this is hard to do in our culture.

Our culture, loves to rebel against authority. (riot picture)

Our culture hates the police, hates our bosses, and anyone else in authority over us.

Sometimes, it’s because unfair things happen, and it’s because people over us allow it to happen.

And so it is often seen as right in our culture, to make things right, and to fight back.

But we are not to fight back but instead trust the Lord,

Paul writes in v.25, ‘but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

A lot of times we don’t want to obey our authorities, because we’re worried that they will act the wrong way.

But God says, don’t worry, because in the end, I will make all things right on judgement day.

So what that means is that we should also be fair at work and at school.

So students, by all means don’t cheat.

Don’t cheat at school by copying answers, or plagiarizing, using ChatGPT, etc.

And don’t cheat at work by not doing any work when you are supposed to.

Because you have a fair God and so we should be fair people.

Because Paul writes in our final verse, 4:1, Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Students, if you haven’t already, one day you yourself will have authority over someone else.

And so will you want to become the very authority you were hurt by?

No, when the time comes for you to be in authority, treat everyone fairly.

Because at the end of the day, the Lord Jesus is the authority over all, and He treats everyone fairly.

If you want to be blessed at home and at school students, have a biblical structure at work and at school.

Don’t be a people pleaser when it comes to your work and study, do it for the Lord.

Obey those in authority over you.

Now this doesn’t mean that if you do all these things you will immediately have perfect A’s across the board, or that your parents will start showering you with every gift you imagine.

But it does mean that you will have a heart that is steadfast, and full of hope and joy,

and that is unshakable no matter what happens to you at home or at school.

And that is better than any perfect grade or gift out there.

Conclusion

I want to conclude this by reaching out to you who are listening to this but reject all sorts of structure.

(Gospel)