The Christian at Work
Notes
Transcript
Call to worship
Welcome everyone!
LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS
Lord,
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS
Lord,
SERMON
Introduction
This is the third set of relationships that Paul addresses in this section of Ephesians.
The Christian Marriage (Husband and wife)
The Christian Home (parents and children)
The Christian at Work (Employees and Employers)
We are to live out our faith in our marriage, we are to live out our faith in our homes, and we are to live out our faith in our workplace.
And our workplace may be the place where we have the greatest opportunities to bear witness for Jesus Christ In this world.
How many of us will get up tomorrow morning and head to work? That’s nearly every person in room. And if you are a mom, you are working just like someone who gets up and goes to a job, even if you do not clock in.
Most of us work at least a 40 hour work week which is roughly 1/3 of our lives. And we should know that has certain expectations in how we are to work, how we are to relate to those we work for, and the attitudes that we have at work.
We’re going to divide this message into two parts today: those who are under the authority of another and those who are in authority over others. In others words: employees and employers.
To those under authority:
To those under authority:
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
Explanation
This was obviously written during a different time than we live in today
In those days, slavery was an accepted and established part of society.
The Romans had slaves, the Greeks had slaves, and slavery was common even in Judaism all the way back to Abraham.
Just because there was slavery in the Bible does not mean it was right. To be a slave was to be owned by another as a piece of property.
Paul is not writing to justify slavery, but to teach how one is to live as a Christian within that kind of institution. He had no more power to abolish slavery than we do today in countries where it still exists. However, no matter what situation we find ourselves in, there are certain attitudes and behaviors God expects from us even is they are extremely unjust.
(V 5) “slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh”
What is a “master according to the flesh”?
This is a someone directly involved in our lives who has some kind of authority over us. and I have three examples of ways that we can apply these principles to us today.
Prisoners
Prisoners have forfeited their freedom and are now under the authority of the guards and state
Hopefully none of us will be going to prison, BUT if we do find ourselves greatly persecuted one day we might, and these principles would apply there.
Military
Our military men and women have signed their lives over for a period of time to the command of others.
They answer to someone who has authority over them.
Employee/employer relationships
Those who work for others volunteer themselves to be under the authority of their boss or supervisor.
The primary command in this verse to those under another’s authority is: “to be obedient”
That means our call is to follow their orders
We do what they say
When they give us a task, we are diligent to complete it
Now most of us would say, “yes I do that!”.
And you most likely do or you wouldn't have a job very long
A critical part of employment is doing what we are told
But it’s not just about obedience, but a certain kind of obedience that God wants
Do you know people can obey God, obey their bosses, obey their parents and yet still despise them in their hearts?
People can obey lieutenants, captains, commanders to their faces but behind closed doors disrespect them and even hate them
This is not just about the act of obedience that Paul wants us to have, He wants us to have a genuine obedience that flows from a pure heart
Following this command, we have five descriptions of what this obedience looks like:
1) Respectful Obedience (v 5) “be obedient…with fear and trembling”
Fear and trembling here does not mean we should come to work scared to death
The word “fear” in the Bible also carries the idea of respect and that is what Paul means here.
Obey them with respect
Give them the proper attitude due to them simply because they are in a position of authority
We give respect to all kinds of people
Our parents
People in the government
Law enforcement
Those who are older than us
Funny story about senior citizen discount
How do we respect them?
Respecting them first means that we do what they say even if we do not agree with it.
It means we speak kindly to them and address them as our superiors.
It means we thank them when they help us, apologize when we’ve done wrong, and treat them as our superiors.
How do people disrespect their employers?
Make jokes about them
Gossip about them
Disregard the rules
Talk down to them
The idea of fear and respect is the same one we should have towards God
We would never ridicule God
We would never make fun of God, or gossip about God, but we approach God with deep respect because he is God
And God says to us, approach your bosses the same way
2) Sincere Obedience (v 5) “be obedient…in the sincerity of your heart”
This means that we should obey wholeheartedly or completely
Partial Obedience is not sincere obedience
Example:
When the boss comes in that morning and gives the list of things that is to be done, and we do the bare minimum just to get, just to get to the end of the day, that is partial obedience
Nor should we pretend to be working, pretend to be doing when we are not.
To work with sincerity means that we put in the effort, we put in the dedication, we put in the thinking, we put forth the effort to produce the quality of work that our employer expects
And this is often frowned upon in the world and these people are deemed “company men”.
Those who are desperately trying to please the boss by going above and beyond
But here it is commended when one works like that
And if you do be prepared to be ridiculed by others.
And thats ok as long as your heart has pure motives
3) Christ-like Obedience (v 5) “be obedient…as to Christ”
Now if we have not grasped the seriousness of our labor we should now
We are to obey our employers in the same way that we obey Jesus Himself
Just imagine you get up and go into work tomorrow and instead of greeting your boss, you greet Jesus
He is now your boss
It is now His business
The orders for the day will now be given with to you on a scroll sealed with 7 seals
When you turn in your timecard and receive your check it will be signed by Jesus Christ
The question then: Would you your work ethics change if Jesus was your boss?
I think we all would say yes
The that means we all have work to do
What if you are self employed?
Then the product that you make should be fit for the King
Our employer is our customer
The relationships we develop with customers should honor God
The way we talk to people should honor God
Don’t should not cut corners, your making that for Jesus
Don’t use bad products
Don’t over charge Jesus!
Whatever it is we do, we should do it as “unto Jesus”
4) Obey them even when they are not watching you (v 6) “be obedient…not by way of eye service, as men-pleasers”
What is eye-service?
Eye-service is doing something to just be seen by others
Someone who does in a work place will work below the expectations until the boss arrives on the scene and then when they notice the boss is watching they begin to work in a much more productive manner
Anyone ever seen anyone like that?
Every workplace has people like that and you and I have probably done that ourselves
Example:
There was once an individual in a church one time who demonstrated this well
We had our door-to door ministry like we do now and would go out just about every week.
One of our supporting churches said they were going to come down and visit us and go out with us knocking on doors. (The whole church)
And I told the church about it and how exciting it was and this guy said, “well we better make sure we are all here and all going out that day”
Why? To make that church think we were all dedicated to that ministry when that simply wasn’t true
The reason this is wrong is because that is a form of deception
Its portraying a work ethic that we really do not possess
Its communicating something that is not true
In contrast to eye-service, that how should we work?
(v 6) “but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”
When you are working, and your boss leaves the office, or the workplace he can no longer see you
He is gone, out the door, at a business meeting, getting supplies, talking to customers
And the temptation is to slack off and take it easy the rest of the day
But when we do that we forget that God is ALWASY watching us every minute of every day
And he sees our work ethic when the boss cannot
And He sees our hard work when no one else does
And that is who we are ultimately working for
We are slaves to Christ before we are slaves to any men
Paul says when we do this, we are living out the will of God
I hear so many times people wanting to know what God’s will is for their life
And 8 hours 5 days a week you can see it right there
Work for your boss in such a way that you will please Jesus who sees us every minute of the day
And we can be in the will of God tomorrow starting right there
5) Obey them with a good attitude like you were serving Jesus (v 7 “with good will render service”)
That just means that we are to have a good godly attitude
How do we have a good attitude at work?
Do not carry resentment or grumbling
Work with gratefulness and with a positive attitude
Be eager to do the task for the day, and
Think about the position of many slaves that Paul would be addressing
They most likely had some cruel masters
They were likely mistreated
They could have been abused and beaten
In some cases their lives were in danger
They had plenty of reasons to have an ill-will toward their masters
And maybe you do too
Maybe you are mistreated, talked down to, or ignored and used
How do we ever come to the place where we can maintain a positive attitude on an environment like that?
“With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men”
Render your service to God not man
“render” means to give acknowledgement
Truth: If you have a job (whether it is working for someone or working for yourself) you are blessed.
Not everyone has a job, and not everyone could even work a job if they wanted to. And I am speaking to myself here as well. If you have a place of employment, it is a gift of God; and we must not forget that.
Wherever you work, whatever it is that you do, God has opened that door for you. God has given you the talents and gifts needed to be good at your job. God has provided you with transportation and tools that you need to get the work done. And every paycheck you receive is from the hand of God.
And if a Christian works, we ultimately work for Jesus
Why should we follow all these principles? Does it really matter?
knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.
Here is the motivation.
We’re all saying, ok Paul this is A LOT to be asking. Why should I treat my boss like that when he does this to me. Why should I treat be nice to him when he gives me all the hard jobs? Why should I treat him with respect when he disrespects me?
Because God is the one who will reward you for your good.
Now God may do that through your work by giving you a raise, or giving you a promotion, or simply giving you a peaceful work environment
He may do that by giving you another job with better pay or more satisfying work.
There are unlimited ways by which God could repay someone for their faithfulness and the details of how God does that doesn’t matter
What matters is this promise that He will.
When good things happen to us because we have worked hard or done good things, the first thing we must do is praise God for them.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Nothing good comes into our lives that doesn’t pass through the hands of God
And if we apply these principles to our work life, then God will repay us for our good
mothers!
You are not exempt from this!
Your reward may not come in a promotion, but it will come
God will reward you for your faithfulness
To those in Authority:
To those in Authority:
And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
Explanation
Now Paul moves from those under authority to those in authority positions
“masters, do the same thing”
This does not mean that those in authority are supposed to be obedient to those under them in those ways described above
It does mean however that those in authority are to keep their integrity, be dedicated, be respectful, and have goodwill toward those under them as they do to the Lord
Christian employers should not be nice to their face and then despising them behind their backs.
Nor should they treat them in ways that God would not treat us.
Nor should they threaten them or treat them harshly
They are to be cheerful, grateful, kind, and caring. Thinking about the best of their employee and not selfishly using them to get wealthy
Reason:
And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
In other words, they may be a master here on earth, but they have a master in heaven who they are accountable to.
“no partiality with Him”
This means God does not give preferential treatment to people with social statuses
The most powerful man in the world will be judged the same as the poorest man in the world
God does not show partiality
Those who have employees
Treat them in ways that honor God
Pay them what they are worth. Do not take advantage of them
Even go above and beyond to bless your employees, and God will bless you
There was a guy that built our carport and and had a crew of people working for him and he is a Christian
He was talking about leadership principles and his practices that he is implementing in his work
And then he said something that stuck with me, “he said a good boss will make it where the employees have it as good or better than the owners of the business”
Now that is really backwards in our world today, but could you imagine the blessings GOD WOULD GIVE TO THE PERSON WHO LED LIKE THAT?
Two closing thoughts:
Whether we are employed by someone or self employed, or employing others, our true reward comes from heaven. Our ultimate reward will be from God. Follow His principles and you will be blessed in ways this world cannot give.
Our workplace is one of the greatest places to bear witness to Christ with our actions and attitudes. Christians are bearing the name of Jesus everywhere we go and the world is watching us. And they are watching to see if what we claim to have has made us different from the world around us.
Jesus said this, “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.”
If we take these principles and live them out starting tomorrow, people are going to know we’re different! And we’re not going to Have to go point the spotlight at ourselves and call attention to ourselves, our attitudes and service will do that for us.
And people are going to start asking questions and they may even come up to you and ask you why you work the way that you do. And then you will have the opportunity to tell them, because you are a servant of the most high King. Because you work for Jesus first, and the reward you receive comes from Jesus, and you work this way because there is no better person to serve than Jesus.
And if you’re not serving, you’ve got to start there. We could never develop these attitudes and convictions until we have first committed our service to Christ. And you can do that right now. Make the decision in your heart to follow Jesus. Give Him your life, and then these principles and attitudes will be attainable.
~PRAYER~
RESPONSE
PUBLIC INVITATION
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
OFFERING
We will now worship the Lord through our tithes and offering.
BENEDICTION
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His face to you, And give you peace.’”