The Spirit-Filled Worker

THE SPIRIT-FILLED WORKER Spring Valley Mennonite; August 8, 2021 Almost everywhere you go "help wanted" signs are seen. I realize that the country is recovering from the pandemic, but it seems that many people are preferring to sit at home and collect unemployment checks rather than go back to work. The verses we look at today address the relationship between slaves and masters, or in modern terms, employees and employers. Many here today are retired and beyond your "working days." But if all scripture is profitable, as we claim it is, there is something in these verses of value to each one of us. I believe the principles we find in our scripture today apply to everyone, whether you are a young person without an employer, or in your working years, or self-employed, or retired. We all are involved in "work." The retired person, if health permits, is not to spend his or her hours in idleness. Even those who are limited by frail health can do the work of encouraging friends through a message or phone call. Intercessory prayer is a work all are to do, but it is especially suited for those confined to home. Those retired are to maintain their home in a God-honoring way and have the time to serve others. Children are to serve the Lord through doing their chores, doing more than the minimum. We all work. Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." So, you may be looking forward to a life of work, as a young person; you still may be formally employed, or are self-employed (as are our farmers), or work in the home, or you may be past your "working years." As Christians, we all labor within the context of the Spirit-Filled life. Turn to our text in Ephesians 6, verses 5-9 (READ) I. THE CONTEXT OF THESE VERSES: SLAVERY Paul speaks in the context of the slave-master relationship. This was such a huge issue in the early church that many verses are devoted to the subject. 1 Corinthians 3, Galatians 3, Colossians 3, 1 Timothy 6, Titus 2, Philemon, and 1 Peter 2-- all address the issue of slaves and masters. As many slaves became Christians and became part of the church, their freedom in Christ created questions in how slaves and masters related to one another. In first- century Roman culture, as much as half the population were slaves. When Rome conquered an area, many of the people were enslaved. Slaves were viewed as property with no rights. A master could abuse his slaves, even killing them for minor offenses. MacArthur cites the Roman statesman Cato as saying, "Old slaves should be thrown on a dump, and when a slave is ill do not feed him anything. It is not worth your money. Take sick slaves and throw them away because they are nothing but inefficient tools."1 This was the general attitude toward slaves in both Greek and Roman culture, although there were rare exceptions. Into such a cruel society came the moderating influence of Christianity. And while slavery was not formally condemned nor approved in the New Testament, in time the principles of mutual submission and absolute equality among Christians brought slavery to an end. Changed hearts of both slaves and masters undermined the evils of slavery. These words of Paul had a profound effect on how slaves were treated. But in our faith community we are neither slaves or slave owners. How do these verses apply to us? In the modern application of these verses, it is appropriate to apply these principles to our work, between employers and employees as well as to each of our attitudes toward work in general. Let's explore... II. GOD'S VIEW OF WORK To begin with, we must realize that work is one of God's gifts to humanity. When God placed Adam in the garden, He gave him work to do, of both a physical and a mental nature. Genesis 2:15: "Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. (His physical labor was as a gardener.) Then we read in Verse 19: And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. (This was mental work.) Now notice this: all this occurred before sin entered the picture. It is a mistake to think that work is part of the curse of sin. Now sin did affect work: it make work more difficult, it added what we could call "the frustration factor." Sin inserted uncertainty to work; the result of our work is not always predictable. Our farmers know this well: Tools and machinery break. Rain fails to water the crops. Yet sin did not change the basic good nature of work. This has great implications about what we will be doing for eternity, after our earthly life is over. If work is inherently good, then we will be creatively occupied in heaven. The idea that we will be sitting around on a cloud in perpetual leisure is obviously wrong. There will be no drudgery to such work, but it will be joyful and tremendously satisfying. Work is part of God's original plan. Work is dignified by the example of God Himself: John 5:17, "My Father is working until now and I Myself am working." The type of work done is obviously different, but the idea that even God is creatively occupied is present. Our modern culture takes a somewhat different view of work, many seeing work as only to be endured. The best situation is seen by most as having enough income that we do not have to work! And while unending vacation sounds nice, after experiencing it, most people find it tedious and monotonous. It's like being in a room with an endless buffet: once you are full, it loses it attraction. We are made to work. This is what Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 5:18-19: "Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God." One more general thing about work: among Christians, there often is a general feeling that some types of work are more noble than others. Jobs and professions are rated on a scale. Being a Pastor or Missionary, "vocational Christian work" rate right up there at the top. Sweeping floors at a fast-food place might be down there at the bottom. Every other job has relative value on this scale, depending on our own criteria: how much it contributes to mankind (medical professionals, for example, or how much money a certain job pays. We tend to respect people whose jobs pay them well. Is such a scale of worthiness valid? God's Word indicates otherwise. Don't forget that most of Jesus' life was spent as a carpenter, a "blue collar" profession. Either Jesus wasted most of His life building tables and chairs, OR God greatly values common ordinary work more that we do. God allowed Jesus to spend more years working with wood than with fishing for men. All work, if done as unto the Lord, is noble. Knowing how God views work in general, we can draw some particular principles from our test. Again, realize that these principles apply to every one of us, whether we are formally employed, self-employed, retired, a student, or work in the home. The first thing to learn is: III. OUR REAL BOSS IS CHRIST One of the most important things to realize as we begin our work each morning is that the person who is in charge isn't really the boss, even if that person is you! For the slave in Ephesus, he was not to consider his master to be the one he served. He was to see Jesus Christ as the One he was to please. This is seen in Paul's words in verse 5 "as to Christ." We all are to work "as to Christ." What are the implications of working for the Lord? Well, imagine if God were standing behind you "looking over your shoulder" as you do your work. Would anything change in how you did your job? I think so! Here is a revelation: HE IS STANDING BEHIND YOU! Because the Lord is our Boss, we should do every job with excellence, to the very highest limits of our skill and ability. While in College, I spent two summers working for the United States Forest Service. It was common to hear other government employees saying, "That's good enough for government work" to justify a mediocre performance. One summer, while not fighting fires, which was the main function of the position, we were tasked with cutting brush from the side of the forest roads. My supervisor was surprised at the amount of work I accomplished, being accustomed to workers who slacked off such "busy work", thinking such things were beneath them. We should work with great diligence, not being satisfied with giving the Lord Jesus anything less than our best. We are to do our work with integrity. The Christian should be the model employee who does not steal from his employer. I am not speaking of stealing paper clips; the greatest way we steal is by stealing productive work which we owe to our employer, work which is stolen by doing such things as taking overlong breaks, visiting with others, or just doing the minimum. All such things equal stealing. The Christian sees Christ as his Boss. We are employees of Christ, or "slaves of Christ" as verse 6 tells us. And, if Christ is our boss, the person in charge is His representative. We should not be complaining or critical behind his back. The Christian work ethic, so sadly lacking in employees today, says that all work is noble, as verse 9 tells us. It occurs to me that when you go "above and beyond" in your work, it may bring opposition from your fellow workers because it makes them look bad. Use this as an opportunity to explain that you are a Christian and you are working for Christ. A second principle on work is that: IV. THE SPIRIT PRODUCES A SANCTIFIED ATTITUDE TOWARD WORK Our whole attitude should stand out as different than the world. There is a saying in management that "people do what you inspect, not what you expect." This means that people work productively only when you constantly check up on them. This is called "eye service" or being "men pleasers." When someone is watching I will work hard, but I can relax when the supervisor walks to another part of the building. Paul says here that attitude is wrong. We work to please God, not man. The Thessalonians were exhorted to shun "every brother who is idle." Paul reminded them of his example: "We worked night and day, laboring and toiling...in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow." John D. Ashcroft served as a US Senator from Missouri and as Attorney General under President George W. Bush. When he was first sworn in as Senator, his father, J. Robert Ashcroft was on his death bed, and holding on to life with a thin thread. As family and friends gathered in Washington D.C., J. Robert asked his son to play on the piano while everyone sang, "We Are Standing On Holy Ground." After the song, the newly elected Senator listened to his father's powerful words, "John, I want you to know that even Washington can be holy ground. Wherever you hear the voice of God, that ground is sanctified. It's a place where God can call you to the highest and best." As a College President of several Christian Colleges, J. Robert Ashcroft worked "as to the Lord" and had on his desk a plaque that read "Jesus is Lord." His son, Senator John Ashcroft, followed his father's example and had 2 Chronicles 26:5 attached to his desk: "As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper." If Washington D.C. can become Holy Ground, surely our places of work can also be transformed by a sanctified attitude. A third principle we can draw from these verses is: V. WE WORK AS PARTNERS WITH GOD IN SERVING OTHERS Verse 7: "With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men. As we work, we are providing for the needs of society. This becomes very clear as we consider our farmers. We become partners with God in providing food. Originally, a man farmed to put food on his own table; now one farmer by his work feeds well over 100 others. In turn, the farmer's needs are provided by those who work at Agco who make his combines and swathers. His need for transportation is met by the assembly line workers who build his trucks. The oil field worker provides fuel for his machinery. As we work, we all do so in partnership with God as He meets the needs of all men. A question which comes to mind is "What about working in industries or businesses which are harmful to society? Should a Christian work in such a place? I'm thinking of such things as working at a Casino, or at a distillery, or working for the lottery. What about working for a dishonest employer who overcharges his customers and delivers an inferior product? These are questions each worker must answer in regard to his employment. Such questions are especially important for students selecting a life work: any profession or place of employment should be evaluated as to its worth for the good of society. We spend on average about 60% of our lives working. Should I devote my laboring energy toward producing or selling a product or service which is worthless, wasteful, harmful or unnecessary? These questions all are important as we work as partners with God to meet the needs of society. Verse 8 speaks of the blessing God will return to us, as we follow these principles. As we live our lives under the Lordship of Christ, honoring Him as our ultimate Boss, He will reward us. We are developing godly character as we labor diligently. Timothy 6:6 tells us that "godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. Godliness has eternal implications also, as we will all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive rewards for the deeds done while alive on earth. Payday, someday; but not when we get the paycheck, but in heaven. Verse 9 tells us that employers are to respect their workers, knowing that God is not impressed by our positions on earth, whether we are a business owner or an employee-or a master or a slave, as this verse applied to in Paul's day. It is an impartial Christ whom we serve; our job title means nothing, but our attitude of working diligently as to the Lord is what truly matters. In summary, our real Boss is Christ. The Holy Spirit produces a sanctified attitude toward work. And we work in partnership with God in meeting the needs of others. Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." 1 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1986). Ephesians (p. 323). Chicago: Moody Press. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2