WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.280 So we'll read from Ephesians 6 and from verses 5 to 9. 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:11.740 Bond servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ. 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:18.620 Not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:22.580 Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man. 00:00:23.080 --> 00:00:29.660 Knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bond servant or is free. 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:36.439 May the masters do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours in heaven, 00:00:36.939 --> 00:00:39.640 and that there is no partiality with him. 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:41.700 Let us pray. 00:00:41.980 --> 00:00:50.579 Lord, we ask now that you would open our hearts to receive your word and that you would give us insight and understanding and most importantly, faith. 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:54.060 We ask for real change based on this passage in our lives. 00:00:54.480 --> 00:00:57.560 So Holy Spirit, help us now, we ask in Jesus' name. 00:00:57.560 --> 00:00:58.120 Amen. 00:00:59.659 --> 00:01:00.059 Amen. 00:01:00.859 --> 00:01:04.519 We're walking through the back half of the book of Ephesians week by week. 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:10.099 One way to summarize it all is to say that there is nothing more practical than the Christian faith. 00:01:11.259 --> 00:01:18.699 And the headline article that we introduced last time, two weeks ago really, is verses 18 to 21 in the previous chapter, 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:19.799 which says, 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:22.599 Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:25.039 And then says, 00:01:25.179 --> 00:01:26.120 Submit to one another. 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:29.060 And so he's talking to Christians. 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:30.280 Paul's talking to Christians. 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:32.340 People who are filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:33.600 And he's saying, 00:01:34.460 --> 00:01:37.060 Submit to one another in every relationship you have. 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:42.100 And so the big headline that we're working our way through in this section is the gospel. 00:01:42.320 --> 00:01:47.719 When you come to faith in Jesus and the gospel gets a hold of your life and the Spirit is a part of your life, 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:58.159 one way that you know you have the Holy Spirit and that you know God is at work in your life is when your relationships start to reorder and reorganize based on the facts of the gospel. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:05.739 And so last week we looked at marriage and how the gospel changes the way we look at husbands and wives and dating. 00:02:06.399 --> 00:02:10.680 We skipped children and parents because the family service is next week. 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:13.800 So I'll come back and be able to tell the kids next week in the service, 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:14.659 Obey your parents. 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:19.419 And parents, there'll be something for you too. 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:25.479 This week we're coming to Paul who says masters and slaves. 00:02:26.239 --> 00:02:27.859 The slave-master dynamic. 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:33.739 He's talking about work and he's talking about employment and being an employer and an employee. 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:38.419 And we'll come to address this issue of slavery in just a second. 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:42.979 But work is what we spend most of our time on in our waking hours. 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:50.620 So the average human being, the average person in this room will spend 90,000 hours in employed work over the course of their lifetime. 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:56.839 That's the statistical average and if you're a high worker, an over worker, it's far more, right? 00:02:56.959 --> 00:03:03.780 And so, boy, you got to believe that Christianity has something to say about work. 00:03:04.579 --> 00:03:07.539 That which we spend most of our awake time doing. 00:03:07.799 --> 00:03:08.419 And it does. 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:10.139 Christianity is so practical. 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:11.579 So let's think about that. 00:03:11.580 --> 00:03:17.340 First, let's understand Paul in context and deal with this issue of slavery. 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:19.620 And then second, we can't ignore that. 00:03:19.720 --> 00:03:27.800 And then secondly, I just want to give you the one big principle that Paul gives us for how to think about faith and work in this passage. 00:03:28.260 --> 00:03:34.600 And of course, when I say one big principle, that means one big principle with lots of sub-principles underneath it, okay? 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:36.480 All right, so here we go. 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:41.979 First, what do we do about the context when we open the passage and read verse 1? 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:45.019 Slaves, obey your earthly masters. 00:03:45.019 --> 00:03:50.659 The ESV U.S. actually says, bond servants, obey your masters. 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:55.240 So there's two different versions of the ESV, one for Americans, one for British people. 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:59.000 And in the American one, it says, bond servants, obey your masters. 00:03:59.079 --> 00:04:08.300 And the reason for that is because the translators are trying to soften the language to distinguish Greco-Roman Mediterranean slavery from African chattel slavery. 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:12.380 And they want to soften the language to make a distinction there. 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:14.260 And there are many distinctions to be made there. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:16.199 But the word is slaves. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:17.879 Slaves, obey your masters. 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.460 Now, you may say, Paul says, slaves, obey your masters. 00:04:21.540 --> 00:04:23.980 And you think, where I work, I am a slave. 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:25.860 So I don't need any contextualization here. 00:04:26.060 --> 00:04:27.560 This is right on. 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:33.480 But here he's, of course, talking to first century people in the city of Ephesus. 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:49.199 And after William Wilberforce, after the Civil War, after the Jim Crow South, in the area where I grew up, after apartheid, some of us and lots of people in our city would come to a passage like this. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.699 And they would struggle, struggle, struggle. 00:04:51.779 --> 00:04:52.420 And maybe you do. 00:04:52.420 --> 00:05:00.360 Because you say, Paul, where is the sentence that says, slaves, revolt against your masters and abolish slavery? 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:02.280 Where is that sentence? 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:05.500 All we read is, slaves, obey your earthly masters. 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:08.140 And what do we do with something like that? 00:05:08.939 --> 00:05:15.800 And many, many, it's definitely true that many Christians in the past, at times, have come and used this passage to condone slavery. 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:29.080 And if you go back and read some of the sermons in the 1850s, where I come from, you'll see that sometimes, and that happened in the UK and Britain as well, that they used this passage to condone slavery. 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:30.580 And that is not what Paul is doing. 00:05:30.980 --> 00:05:31.639 Not at all. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:32.360 What is Paul doing? 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:37.160 He is writing to a little bitty church in this city called Ephesus. 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:42.640 And we realize it has to be the case that most of the people he's talking to are slaves. 00:05:43.280 --> 00:05:53.600 So the historians will tell us that the estimates are as high as the population, first century population of the Roman Empire, being up to 75 million people in the first century. 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:57.700 And up to 60 million of them are slaves. 00:05:58.379 --> 00:06:00.420 60 out of 75 slaves. 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:11.220 Slavery is so ingrained, so part of the normal fabric of the culture, that overwhelmingly, at least 80% of all the people in the Greco-Roman Empire are slaves. 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:20.700 And that means that when Paul writes this, he's talking to a little bitty church in Ephesus of people who have come to faith, discovering the gospel for the very first time. 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:25.580 And what they're trying to do is work out, what do I do with this thing called Christianity? 00:06:25.579 --> 00:06:38.779 And if, Paul, you're telling me that the gospel, Ephesians 1 to 3, frees me in Christ, the gospel says you are now free in Christ, what does that mean when I go to work on Monday as a slave who is not free? 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:42.199 And that is Paul's biggest concern, right? 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:49.360 And so, in Greco-Roman Mediterranean slavery, you had some really, really brutal forms. 00:06:50.539 --> 00:06:55.360 People, masters separating families, men from their wives and children sometimes. 00:06:56.019 --> 00:06:58.459 You had torture sometimes happening. 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:08.039 But in many forms of Greco-Roman slavery, you also had a paid job where you were housed, fed, well-educated. 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:09.319 It was not race-based. 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:12.379 Most of the people who were slaves were conquered peoples. 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:17.540 And lots of people would sell themselves into slavery because it was a really, really steady thing. 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:19.360 You knew that you could be fed, clothed. 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:26.120 So, for instance, some of the most well-educated people in the whole of the Roman Empire were slaves, like the doctors in Caesar's household. 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:28.180 They would have been slaves in the Roman Empire. 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:30.860 It was the normal pattern to be a slave. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:35.719 And there were some horrible forms and some not-so-horrible forms. 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:40.420 And what Paul's doing is he's not completely dismissing the institution. 00:07:41.740 --> 00:07:46.080 The principles of the Bible will ultimately lead to the abolishment of slavery one day. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:47.160 Yeah? 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:50.400 But what he's doing here is he's looking out and he's being a pastor. 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:53.580 And he's talking to people who have just come to faith in Christ and saying, 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:55.759 Now, what does Jesus mean for Monday? 00:07:56.919 --> 00:07:57.899 I'm a slave. 00:07:58.419 --> 00:08:03.680 And boy, if he would have told this little band of slaves in the middle of a metropolis like Ephesus, 00:08:04.019 --> 00:08:09.799 Go out Monday morning and be an activist, you know, and protest on the royal mile against slavery, 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:11.740 they would have all been dead before lunch. 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:12.539 Okay? 00:08:12.659 --> 00:08:13.939 And so it would have been very foolish. 00:08:14.099 --> 00:08:15.459 And instead, what is he doing? 00:08:15.539 --> 00:08:16.759 He's trying to pastor them. 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:19.199 Think about 1 Corinthians 7. 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:22.399 Paul's got this list in 1 Corinthians 7 where he's going through, 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:24.819 What does it mean to be a Christian in your normal life? 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:27.459 And one of the issues he addresses is, 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:31.959 If you've become a Christian but you're married to a non-Christian, do you leave your spouse? 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:33.480 And Paul says, No. 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:34.960 Stay with them. 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:35.980 Be for them. 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:36.580 Right? 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:38.080 Because they just don't know. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:39.740 They're trying to figure it out. 00:08:39.819 --> 00:08:42.240 They don't know the ethics of following Jesus. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:43.399 And that's what he's doing. 00:08:43.460 --> 00:08:44.179 He's pastoring them. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:44.919 He's pastoring us. 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:49.679 And he's saying, What does Jesus have to do with your Monday, with your employment, with your work? 00:08:49.699 --> 00:08:50.899 He's getting right down to it. 00:08:51.439 --> 00:08:52.259 That's his big goal. 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:55.379 Now, does Paul care about the abolition of slavery? 00:08:55.579 --> 00:08:56.459 Absolutely he does. 00:08:56.719 --> 00:09:00.079 Does Christianity matter for the social conditions of a city? 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:01.799 Absolutely it does. 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:08.579 But the principle in the Bible is not revolution but always reformation. 00:09:09.199 --> 00:09:12.339 The biblical idea is never revolution but always reformation. 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:18.420 In other words, what he's telling us is something absolutely revolutionary that leads not to revolutions but reformations. 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:25.460 And just like last week, if you were here, I mentioned that when Paul turns to men in the Greco-Roman Empire and says, 00:09:25.800 --> 00:09:30.480 Men, you husbands, you cherish your wives as if she is your own body. 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:36.139 In a society where men would get married and then have any relationship they wanted on the side 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:38.620 and could care less about their wife except for status, 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:43.460 He says, You nourish and cherish her like it's your very body. 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:48.940 Boy, that was an equality, a plane of equality in the Greco-Roman world that had never existed. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:52.539 And when he turns in this passage in verse 8 and 9 and he says, 00:09:52.539 --> 00:10:02.240 You cannot look at your slave and think, I'm greater than my slave. 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:07.419 Instead, when you know that you're standing before the Lord, you're equal with them before God. 00:10:07.579 --> 00:10:09.919 That is a revolution that will lead to a reformation. 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:15.000 And you can think about William Wilberforce here in this country in the 19th century. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.820 William Wilberforce, who really led the movement towards abolition of the slave trade here, 00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:24.659 he was an aristocrat of aristocrats. 00:10:25.460 --> 00:10:28.039 He was as ostentatious as it gets. 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:31.220 So he was a character in a Jane Austen novel. 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:34.440 A pretentious, snobby, very, very wealthy man. 00:10:34.779 --> 00:10:35.980 And he found Jesus. 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:36.960 Jesus found him. 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:38.220 He came to Christ. 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:39.399 It changed his life. 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:41.259 It reordered all of his relationships. 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:41.919 And what did he do? 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:49.879 He spent his entire life slowly trying to be leaven in a society that still had the slave trade 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:53.939 by slowly, slowly, slowly drip-feeding parliament with biblical principles 00:10:53.939 --> 00:10:56.779 until parliament abolished the slave trade. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:00.579 The principle in the Bible is to care about social conditions, 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.979 but not through the lens of revolution, through the lens of reformation. 00:11:04.719 --> 00:11:09.819 Drip-feeding the gospel principles over and over and over again until change starts to happen. 00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:15.180 And God calls us at all different levels to care about the social conditions we may have been dropped into. 00:11:15.660 --> 00:11:17.760 So some of us might become William Wilberforce. 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:24.120 Others of us, most of us, will not in tiny little small ways in whatever community workplace that we've been put in. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:25.920 But the Bible calls us to care about that. 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:27.460 But let me give you the biggest takeaway here. 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:40.420 And the biggest takeaway to see is that Paul is saying to us the most important thing is to care in this fleeting life about what does Jesus have to do with me in my life today. 00:11:41.160 --> 00:11:45.240 So the social conditions may change, I hope so, for the better. 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:46.879 But this life is fleeting. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:56.100 And Paul is saying the most important thing is to ask, in the first century, what does it mean for me to be a slave tomorrow at 8 a.m., 7 a.m. when I wake up? 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:00.679 What does it mean for you as a Christian to be an employee or an employer tomorrow? 00:12:01.439 --> 00:12:01.820 Tomorrow. 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:04.360 So the workplace may be really unhealthy. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:09.419 And what you've got to think about is slow drip-feeding permeation of change. 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:13.299 But the most important thing is to say, how do I follow Jesus in that tomorrow? 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:15.440 Even if the social conditions never change. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:22.580 So a Christian is willing to suffer in bad conditions and pray that they get changed. 00:12:23.160 --> 00:12:26.840 But in the meantime, witness to the gospel the whole way, all along the way. 00:12:27.060 --> 00:12:27.240 All right? 00:12:27.300 --> 00:12:27.860 So what does that mean? 00:12:27.920 --> 00:12:28.460 What does that look like? 00:12:28.520 --> 00:12:28.760 How? 00:12:29.300 --> 00:12:33.580 Secondly, the one principle I want to give you with lots of sub-principles. 00:12:33.740 --> 00:12:34.140 Here we go. 00:12:34.760 --> 00:12:41.400 Secondly, what is Paul teaching us here about work, about employees and employers and how to think about it? 00:12:43.160 --> 00:12:44.600 He's telling us one main thing. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:49.740 And that is, if you're a human being, you work. 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:54.300 And if you work and you're a Christian, you work for the Lord. 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:57.519 God is your ultimate boss. 00:12:58.519 --> 00:12:59.320 God is your boss. 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:00.600 That's how a Christian works. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:01.920 That's what he teaches here. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.440 And that means, good news for all you employees in the room, 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:11.000 your earthly boss, as he puts it in verse 1, is relative, not final. 00:13:11.580 --> 00:13:16.520 And for all the employers in the room, you work for the Lord, Paul says. 00:13:17.020 --> 00:13:22.420 And that means that you have to think about your workspace, your employees, the people who work under you, 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:27.220 who work for you, as entirely equal before God. 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:30.820 God shows no partiality to masters, to employers. 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:32.120 You work for the Lord. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.879 That's the big lesson that we learn here in this passage. 00:13:35.180 --> 00:13:35.879 Now, what is Paul doing? 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:38.180 He's bringing us back to Genesis 1 and 2. 00:13:38.179 --> 00:13:42.819 And he's reminding us that when the gospel comes into your life, 00:13:42.819 --> 00:13:44.979 it has the power to reorder your relationships, 00:13:44.979 --> 00:13:50.359 to make them what they should have been if Genesis 3 would have never happened. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:54.199 So the goal is to realize, hey, this is for Christians, 00:13:54.359 --> 00:14:02.139 but it's also the gospel so permeating our lives that we live as if Genesis 3 never happened. 00:14:02.219 --> 00:14:02.859 That's the big goal. 00:14:02.979 --> 00:14:04.399 Now, of course, we won't do that perfectly, 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:09.199 but we want to reorder marriage to look like Genesis 2 again. 00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:13.039 We want to reorder work to look like the Garden of Eden. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:14.779 That's what he's talking about here. 00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:16.120 And so look how he puts it. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:18.340 If you just scan your eyes across the passage, 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.100 you can see all the times he takes you back to realizing, 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:23.539 I work for the Lord. 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:24.799 God is my big boss. 00:14:25.079 --> 00:14:25.879 That's what really matters. 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:27.879 So he says in verse 5, 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:31.419 Slaves obey, and then there's the clause at the end, 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:33.460 as you would obey Christ. 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:36.519 In other words, as you're obeying your employer, 00:14:36.940 --> 00:14:37.900 as you're serving them, 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:41.320 do it as if because you are serving Christ. 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:42.440 That's what he's suggesting. 00:14:42.800 --> 00:14:43.320 Keep going. 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:46.300 Not through eye service, but as servant of Christ. 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:49.420 So in every sphere of work, whether you work at home, 00:14:50.300 --> 00:14:51.560 you work in an office, 00:14:51.780 --> 00:14:53.240 you work as an employer or an employer, 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:56.420 work as if you are serving Christ in that moment. 00:14:56.740 --> 00:14:57.560 That's his suggestion. 00:14:57.559 --> 00:14:59.939 Doing the will of God from your heart, 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:01.339 wholeheartedly for God, 00:15:01.659 --> 00:15:03.939 all the way down to the bottom when he says to masters, 00:15:04.459 --> 00:15:06.599 knowing that when you work as an employer 00:15:06.599 --> 00:15:08.139 and give orders to people, 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:09.699 God is your master. 00:15:10.199 --> 00:15:12.619 You should do it as if you've been mastered 00:15:12.619 --> 00:15:14.079 by Jesus Christ himself. 00:15:14.479 --> 00:15:16.259 All right, so you can see all throughout the way 00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:17.219 how clear it is. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:19.539 The main idea, you work for the Lord 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:20.359 if you're a Christian. 00:15:20.619 --> 00:15:21.339 He is your boss, 00:15:21.340 --> 00:15:24.680 and everything's about relating ultimately to him. 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:27.240 Now, he gives you three ways to do that. 00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:28.200 Here's the sub-principles. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:30.680 Practically, just the little words 00:15:30.680 --> 00:15:31.940 that he chooses to use here. 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:36.940 Number one, he tells you something every time, 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:38.580 negative and then positive. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.379 So the normal way that people do it 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:43.120 in the city apart from the gospel 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:46.900 and then how the gospel really can change your life at work. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:49.300 And so the first one he gives you is in verse one. 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:51.539 And he says, obey your earthly masters 00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:53.139 with fear and trembling. 00:15:53.859 --> 00:15:56.059 That's the first one, with fear and trembling. 00:15:56.599 --> 00:15:58.599 By the way, if you look down at verse nine, 00:15:58.699 --> 00:16:01.659 you'll see that he says, masters do the same thing. 00:16:02.439 --> 00:16:05.000 So every one of this list, these three principles, 00:16:05.359 --> 00:16:07.519 he's saying to both employers and employees. 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:10.639 So most of us in this room are both probably, 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:13.439 a lot of us will be, where you will be an employee, 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:16.219 but you'll also be a boss of somebody else at the same time. 00:16:16.899 --> 00:16:18.500 And so a lot of us have to figure out, 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:21.519 with wisdom, how this works out in your life. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:23.840 So all we can do today is give the principles 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:24.539 from the Bible. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:26.960 And every single one of us has to say, 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:29.860 how does this very particularly work in my workplace, 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:31.960 according to my job, my rhythms, 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:34.480 depending on if I'm an employee or an employer. 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:36.279 So the first one he says is, 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:39.259 obey your employer with fear and trembling. 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:43.440 All right, does that mean going to work 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:45.440 and everything your boss says, 00:16:45.520 --> 00:16:47.280 saying, yes, sir, doing it, yes, ma'am, 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:48.620 doing it as a scaredy cat. 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:49.440 Fear and trembling. 00:16:50.020 --> 00:16:53.080 No, okay, the Greek word fear and trembling 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.120 is an idiom in Greek for honor and respect. 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:00.800 So it's using a Greek idiom to say, 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.920 serve at work, serve your boss with honor and respect. 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:07.100 And remember, who's he talking to? 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:08.220 He's talking to slaves. 00:17:09.300 --> 00:17:12.519 He's saying, slaves, serve your master. 00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:16.860 Employees, serve your boss with honor and respect, 00:17:17.560 --> 00:17:19.880 therefore, even if they are bad. 00:17:21.340 --> 00:17:24.000 So here's how the gospel can reshape 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:25.259 your relationship to work. 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:27.860 It gives you a new reason, a new power, 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:29.620 a new impetus to going to work and saying, 00:17:29.619 --> 00:17:30.959 I don't have a good boss, 00:17:31.659 --> 00:17:33.319 but because I work for the Lord, 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:35.539 God calls me to honor and respect 00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:36.579 the authority above me, 00:17:36.679 --> 00:17:38.339 even when they're not doing a good job, 00:17:38.879 --> 00:17:41.139 even when they're not doing what they should be. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:43.639 Now, does that mean being walked all over? 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.699 No, because the paradigm we've already had 00:17:46.699 --> 00:17:49.719 in Ephesians is always speak the truth 00:17:49.719 --> 00:17:50.919 and love in your relationships. 00:17:51.919 --> 00:17:53.539 And so what does it mean to honor and respect, 00:17:53.699 --> 00:17:54.239 fear and tremble? 00:17:54.459 --> 00:17:57.459 It means that you have the confidence 00:17:57.699 --> 00:17:59.199 because you work for Jesus, 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:03.599 to stand up sometimes to a bad boss and say, 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:05.859 I respect you, but I disagree, 00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:07.779 and I don't think that's the right course of action. 00:18:07.879 --> 00:18:09.859 Truth in love, right? 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.619 And at the same time, you've got the humility 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:13.579 to then go to the water cooler 00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:16.359 and kill the water cooler gossip 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:17.719 about how bad your boss is. 00:18:18.219 --> 00:18:20.039 That's the humble confidence the gospel gives you. 00:18:20.859 --> 00:18:22.559 So what's the first thing we learn here? 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:24.439 One of the first things we learn, 00:18:24.479 --> 00:18:25.419 the first thing we learn here 00:18:25.419 --> 00:18:28.059 is the way to go to work and serve the Lord. 00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:29.139 How do you serve the Lord at work? 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:30.580 You serve God at work. 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:33.780 You work for the Lord by bearing with a bad boss 00:18:33.780 --> 00:18:36.380 in ways that other people will not bear with them. 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:39.700 Forbearance with them, no matter what. 00:18:39.780 --> 00:18:40.640 Bearing with a bad boss. 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:42.520 And it goes the same for masters. 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:44.520 He turns and says, the same for you, you employers. 00:18:45.040 --> 00:18:46.180 Stop your threats. 00:18:46.180 --> 00:18:48.200 And so in the ancient world, 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.799 in the Greco-Roman Mediterranean society, 00:18:51.340 --> 00:18:55.320 masters would oftentimes be brutal to their slaves. 00:18:56.600 --> 00:18:59.799 And imagine, boy, masters and slaves. 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:01.560 When he's speaking, when Paul is writing this, 00:19:01.779 --> 00:19:04.240 it's being read out loud in church. 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:05.980 And who is there in church? 00:19:06.140 --> 00:19:08.299 Masters and slaves sitting next to each other 00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:12.139 and saying, you employers, you look across the room 00:19:12.139 --> 00:19:15.480 and know that in all the ways that you continue to be harsh, 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:19.379 the gospel has to mortify that and kill that. 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:21.819 And you've got to respect your employers, 00:19:22.019 --> 00:19:24.099 your slaves in this first century 00:19:24.099 --> 00:19:27.299 because Jesus Christ came to die for them 00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:28.379 just like he came to die for you. 00:19:28.579 --> 00:19:29.919 The gospel has got to reorder that. 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:32.800 And then he turns to employees in this room 00:19:32.800 --> 00:19:35.320 and he says, look over and respect that person 00:19:35.320 --> 00:19:36.900 even when they don't do a good job. 00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:38.740 The gospel changes everything. 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:41.860 The gospel reorders our relationships from top to bottom. 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:46.400 The second thing he gives us here is in verse six and seven. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:47.560 So he says in verse six and seven, 00:19:48.300 --> 00:19:52.700 here's the negative, not by eye service and people pleasing, 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:56.160 but instead serving God wholeheartedly, 00:19:56.800 --> 00:19:58.060 rendering service from the heart. 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:00.319 So not eye service, not people pleasing, 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:03.440 but serving the Lord at work wholeheartedly. 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:06.919 Now boy, this is where it really comes down to the practical. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:10.619 I remember in high school, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:13.960 my dad made me work a lot in high school. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:18.379 And when I grew up, it was big on you work, work, work 00:20:18.379 --> 00:20:23.259 as young as possible so that you learn to work. 00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:24.799 You learn how to really work, right? 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:27.819 So I did construction and all sorts of other things. 00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:30.519 To learn hard work, no matter what I thought about it. 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:34.980 And I remember when you're 17, when you're 16, 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:37.839 maybe when you're 26, maybe when you're 36, 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:39.319 maybe when you're 46 or 56, 00:20:40.159 --> 00:20:43.179 maybe you still are with your pals at work. 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:46.000 And you, you know, once I had a desk job, 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:48.259 a computer job when I was about 16, 17, 00:20:48.399 --> 00:20:50.079 and we had it worked out pretty well 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:52.799 where you could put your hands on the keyboard, right? 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.440 And close your eyes like this. 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:56.279 And we had code words, you know, 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:58.980 and people would be designated, okay, 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:00.759 if the boss is coming, you know, 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.019 cry out like an eagle or, right? 00:21:05.159 --> 00:21:08.059 And immediately you pop up and just start typing, right? 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:10.899 Now this is the word Paul uses, eye service, 00:21:11.419 --> 00:21:14.980 meaning you only work when the master, 00:21:15.059 --> 00:21:16.559 in the first century, when the master shows up. 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:20.399 And the rest of the time you are doing as much as you can 00:21:20.399 --> 00:21:22.559 to do as little as possible, right? 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:24.179 And then he turns and he says, 00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:26.500 and also not as men pleasers in the text 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.440 or people pleasers, it's translated. 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:31.919 And it's the same idea, but in eye service, 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:36.419 the idea is that you only appear to be doing work 00:21:36.419 --> 00:21:37.740 when the boss is around. 00:21:38.419 --> 00:21:41.179 People pleasing is you are only working 00:21:41.179 --> 00:21:42.819 so that the boss would see you. 00:21:42.899 --> 00:21:44.720 So maybe you work as hard as you can, 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:48.559 but the only reason is because you want to get promoted, 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:49.860 promoted, promoted. 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:52.420 Success, success, success. 00:21:52.579 --> 00:21:55.059 So I'll do whatever work I need to do 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:57.220 in order to be seen by my boss 00:21:57.220 --> 00:21:59.779 so that I can go up, up, up in the business 00:21:59.779 --> 00:22:02.240 or whatever hierarchy you're a part of. 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:04.940 And he says, the gospel changes that. 00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:05.240 Why? 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:08.240 Because now you work for the Lord. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:09.140 He's your big boss. 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:12.259 And so now when you go to work every day, 00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:14.380 you gotta say, why am I doing this? 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:16.720 Even in a job that maybe you don't like, 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:17.920 and he says, you've gotta wake up 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.640 and you gotta say, because I'm doing it, 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.299 I'm gonna work, I'm gonna do what I signed up to do 00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:23.120 because I'm working for the glory of God. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.319 In order that by my good work, 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:28.240 even when all the other guys are asleep 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:29.420 with their hands on the keyboards, 00:22:29.940 --> 00:22:32.920 they might see my work and give glory one day 00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:34.039 to my father who's in heaven. 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:35.240 Maybe I'll get a chance to say, 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:36.700 look, the reason I'm not gonna do it 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:38.100 is because I work for the Lord. 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:40.420 I wanna give glory to God. 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:42.860 And so I'm committed to doing exactly 00:22:42.860 --> 00:22:43.700 what I signed up to do. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:46.300 Boy, if you think about all of our lives, 00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:50.759 we have a natural heart disposition 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:55.060 to care so much about what people think about us. 00:22:56.080 --> 00:22:59.120 And we care about what people think of us as men. 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:01.560 We care about what people think of us as women. 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:05.080 We care about what people think of us as workers as well, 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:06.019 and in every sphere. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.519 And we desperately care about 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:10.139 what our bosses think about us. 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:13.599 And when we live according to that gospel, 00:23:13.980 --> 00:23:15.799 which is not gospel at all, it's bad news, 00:23:16.379 --> 00:23:18.859 then our whole life becomes about being controlled 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:21.399 by what everybody thinks, everybody's opinion. 00:23:21.939 --> 00:23:23.679 We're literally making all of our decisions 00:23:23.679 --> 00:23:25.039 based on opinion formation. 00:23:25.919 --> 00:23:27.539 And what we're reading about here says 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:30.379 that when you realize that you work for the true boss, 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:32.720 for Jesus Christ, when he really is your master at work, 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:38.839 we are freed from desiring the praise of people all the time. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:40.539 It no longer becomes my ambition 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:43.400 to care as much about what everybody thinks about me. 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:46.019 And instead, what I really care about 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:47.600 is seeking the common good 00:23:47.600 --> 00:23:48.860 and rendering service for the Lord 00:23:48.860 --> 00:23:50.019 as much as I possibly can. 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:53.059 And sometimes that may even mean being fired for something, 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:55.880 going that far, because I care about the Lord. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:56.900 I'm not gonna do that. 00:23:57.640 --> 00:23:59.799 I'm not gonna sin when I'm asked to sin at work. 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:02.799 Because the Lord, I care about the glory of the Lord 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.599 in all that I do. 00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:06.339 The third thing and final thing he gives us here 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:07.559 in verse seven and eight 00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:10.480 is ultimately rendering service and goodwill, 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:13.480 doing all we do with goodwill to the Lord, 00:24:13.639 --> 00:24:16.440 knowing, he says, you may not be rewarded 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:17.579 in this life for it. 00:24:17.639 --> 00:24:18.639 So he's talking to slaves. 00:24:19.299 --> 00:24:20.659 They're sure not gonna be rewarded 00:24:20.659 --> 00:24:22.899 for their service before God in this life. 00:24:23.159 --> 00:24:24.680 He says, but you will be rewarded one day. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:25.539 The Lord sees. 00:24:26.139 --> 00:24:27.000 Now, what is he saying? 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:29.619 Do you, he's asking you this. 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:31.599 Will you ask yourself this diagnostic question? 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:33.720 Do you go to work to make money? 00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:36.279 Yes, that is a good thing. 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:38.279 Do you go to work to provide? 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:39.660 Yes, that is a good thing. 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:41.779 God has made work for that, to be able to provide. 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:45.559 But he's asking, do you have a heart 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:47.440 because of the gospel? 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:50.480 Because God looked out at the world and said, 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:53.920 I will not leave this world to die to itself. 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:55.160 I will save this place. 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:56.779 I love humans. 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.940 I love this world so much that I will redeem. 00:25:00.100 --> 00:25:01.120 You look out at the world and you say, 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:02.860 look, yes, I come to work to make money. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:06.480 Yes, I come to work to provide for my family or myself. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:09.580 But boy, I come to work because God made me to be a worker. 00:25:11.060 --> 00:25:12.460 And I'm made in his image. 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:14.080 And he's the great worker. 00:25:14.320 --> 00:25:15.700 And I want to work to his glory. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:18.400 And ultimately, I want to serve the common good 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:22.440 as much as I can to witness to the future kingdom of God 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:26.180 that God, the great craftsman, is building for us. 00:25:26.860 --> 00:25:27.720 That's the real reason. 00:25:27.820 --> 00:25:28.559 That's the real motivation. 00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:30.160 That's what he's talking about here. 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:31.039 So let me put it simple. 00:25:31.620 --> 00:25:35.220 The greatest lesson, I think, in this passage is 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:40.160 the most important way to serve God at work, 00:25:40.220 --> 00:25:41.039 according to Paul, 00:25:41.539 --> 00:25:44.820 is to go to work and do good work, 00:25:45.320 --> 00:25:46.340 do excellent work. 00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:48.240 That's what he's saying. 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:49.079 When you work for the Lord, 00:25:49.419 --> 00:25:51.519 you go to work and you work excellently. 00:25:52.679 --> 00:25:55.079 And you say, I work excellently to the glory of God. 00:25:56.419 --> 00:25:58.659 Now, let me bring things to a conclusion. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:02.419 I'll put it like this, even more simply. 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:03.619 You can say, 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:09.099 God doesn't make junk, so I don't make junk either. 00:26:10.419 --> 00:26:10.639 Right? 00:26:10.659 --> 00:26:11.679 Every morning you wake up and you say, 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:13.859 God doesn't make junk, so I don't make junk. 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:15.539 I work for the Lord. 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:18.220 I try to do my work skillfully, beautifully, 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:20.839 because it's all ultimately about his glory. 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:23.599 Now, the headline, remember, was verse 18 to 21, 00:26:23.819 --> 00:26:24.839 be filled with the Spirit. 00:26:25.899 --> 00:26:28.559 And look for the Spirit working out 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:30.359 sanctification in your life 00:26:30.359 --> 00:26:33.279 by the way your relationship to work is changing. 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:34.099 Look for that. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:35.279 Be aware of that. 00:26:35.399 --> 00:26:36.220 Think about that. 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:39.000 Try to reorder your life and relationship to work 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:40.139 through that lens. 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:42.220 But what is he ultimately saying there? 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:44.639 He's saying that in order to see work like this, 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:46.900 you've got to get the gospel into your life. 00:26:47.320 --> 00:26:50.140 And you've got to believe the good news of Jesus Christ. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:51.259 And what is the good news? 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:54.200 We could spend a long time talking about it, 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:55.400 but let me just say it this way. 00:26:55.840 --> 00:26:57.180 The gospel means 00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:58.960 resting 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:02.140 in the voice of Jesus Christ 00:27:02.140 --> 00:27:04.520 who says over you, 00:27:05.020 --> 00:27:06.100 while you were my enemy, 00:27:06.520 --> 00:27:07.920 while you were a sinner, 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:10.460 I came to love you 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:12.640 beyond and in spite of your performance. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:15.300 The gospel says 00:27:15.300 --> 00:27:17.300 that God loves you 00:27:17.300 --> 00:27:19.060 despite your performance. 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:21.580 And you know what that means 00:27:21.580 --> 00:27:22.240 when it comes to work? 00:27:22.340 --> 00:27:24.080 It means that when you believe the gospel, 00:27:24.560 --> 00:27:25.460 you are freed 00:27:25.460 --> 00:27:27.480 from needing to create meaning 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:29.400 and your own existential meaning 00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:31.460 and your own personal successes 00:27:31.460 --> 00:27:33.259 merely through the workplace 00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:35.240 because God has already told you, 00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:36.019 I accept you 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:36.819 beyond your performance. 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:37.640 In other words, 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:38.400 it gets you, 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:38.980 it frees you, 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:39.740 it liberates you 00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:40.519 from believing 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:42.579 my performance at work 00:27:42.579 --> 00:27:44.519 and in every other arena of life 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:45.539 is my ultimate meaning. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:47.599 The gospel frees you from that. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.099 And you can go to work 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:50.200 and you can know 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:50.980 that you're freed, 00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:53.319 you're freed from selfish ambition. 00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:55.120 You're freed 00:27:55.120 --> 00:27:57.279 from just pursuing higher levels 00:27:57.279 --> 00:27:57.940 of success 00:27:57.940 --> 00:27:59.319 and money all the time 00:27:59.319 --> 00:27:59.980 because 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:01.700 you don't need to be somebody. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:03.539 God has already said 00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:04.779 you're a somebody to Him. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:06.900 He loves you desperately 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:07.840 in Christ 00:28:07.840 --> 00:28:09.759 and it frees you from thinking, 00:28:10.080 --> 00:28:11.299 it frees you also from thinking 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:12.539 that working 00:28:12.539 --> 00:28:13.980 with your hands 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:14.660 and working, 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:16.220 maybe you just, 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:17.380 maybe you clean, 00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:18.759 maybe you work in the garden. 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:20.920 This says, 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:23.160 God is the ultimate gardener 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:24.220 and that means 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:25.299 you are free from thinking 00:28:25.299 --> 00:28:26.519 that there's such a thing 00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:27.920 as lesser work in this life. 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:29.180 Mere menial work 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:29.660 instead of, 00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:30.160 Martin Luther, 00:28:31.120 --> 00:28:32.180 finish with this, 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:32.779 Martin Luther, 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:34.259 what did he say? 00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:35.500 In the top of the Reformation, 00:28:36.560 --> 00:28:38.259 he came up in Roman Catholicism 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:38.980 and he believed 00:28:38.980 --> 00:28:40.340 that the only real way 00:28:40.340 --> 00:28:41.000 to serve God 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:41.660 through our work 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:43.000 is to become a monk, 00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:43.539 a priest, 00:28:43.600 --> 00:28:44.039 or a nun. 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:45.420 And so he did that. 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:46.080 He became a monk 00:28:46.080 --> 00:28:46.560 and a priest. 00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:49.340 And he still really struggled 00:28:49.340 --> 00:28:50.539 with God's call on his life. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:51.900 And when he came 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:53.660 to read Paul correctly 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:55.320 and find out 00:28:55.320 --> 00:28:56.180 about the bounty 00:28:56.180 --> 00:28:56.860 of justification 00:28:56.859 --> 00:28:59.899 that God pronounces 00:28:59.899 --> 00:29:01.339 his love and grace 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:02.299 and forgiveness over you 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:03.799 despite your performance. 00:29:04.639 --> 00:29:05.339 What did he turn around 00:29:05.339 --> 00:29:06.039 and say about work? 00:29:06.099 --> 00:29:06.579 He turned around 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:06.939 and said, 00:29:07.019 --> 00:29:07.500 here's a quote, 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:09.000 the milkmaid 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:10.319 and the watchman on the wall 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:11.379 are the hands 00:29:11.379 --> 00:29:12.059 and feet of the Lord. 00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:13.979 He used to believe 00:29:13.979 --> 00:29:14.559 the only way 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:15.399 to really serve God 00:29:15.399 --> 00:29:15.879 in this life 00:29:15.879 --> 00:29:17.639 is to be religious minister, 00:29:17.819 --> 00:29:18.559 to be a monk 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:19.059 or a priest, 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:19.379 he thought. 00:29:19.459 --> 00:29:19.859 And then he said, 00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:20.240 no, 00:29:20.299 --> 00:29:21.419 it's the milkmaid 00:29:21.419 --> 00:29:22.719 and the watchman on the tower 00:29:22.719 --> 00:29:23.919 that are the real hands 00:29:23.919 --> 00:29:24.539 and feet of the Lord 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:25.319 week in and week out. 00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:27.480 The gospel frees you 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:28.159 to realizing 00:29:28.159 --> 00:29:29.679 God has called you to work 00:29:29.679 --> 00:29:30.980 and so the number one thing 00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:32.039 is just to work excellently 00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:33.279 to God's glory. 00:29:34.539 --> 00:29:35.439 Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:29:35.439 --> 00:29:37.099 was a minister in London 00:29:37.099 --> 00:29:37.579 in the middle 00:29:37.579 --> 00:29:38.259 of the 20th century. 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:39.339 This week, 00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:42.119 I read his six sermons 00:29:42.119 --> 00:29:43.059 on this passage. 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:43.700 All right, 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:44.240 so listen, 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:45.460 maybe you're thinking, 00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:46.460 when is this going to finish? 00:29:48.339 --> 00:29:49.519 Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:51.500 preached six straight weeks 00:29:51.500 --> 00:29:53.019 on Ephesians 6, 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:53.579 5 to 9. 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:56.379 We're only doing 30 minutes, 00:29:56.439 --> 00:29:56.679 okay? 00:29:58.579 --> 00:29:59.299 But let me give you 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:00.019 a couple examples 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:02.240 and I want to quote him 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:03.839 because they're strong, 00:30:03.899 --> 00:30:04.240 I think. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:05.899 He said, 00:30:05.939 --> 00:30:07.079 if you're a university student, 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:08.539 a student in the room, 00:30:09.159 --> 00:30:09.519 he said, 00:30:09.659 --> 00:30:10.759 he talked about this happening 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:11.460 in his own church 00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:12.639 in the middle of the 20th century. 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:13.779 A university student 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:14.220 came to me 00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:14.599 and they said, 00:30:14.639 --> 00:30:14.759 you know, 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:15.679 I failed my exams. 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:17.819 And he said, 00:30:17.879 --> 00:30:18.099 okay, 00:30:18.619 --> 00:30:19.639 sometimes that happens, 00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:20.259 but why? 00:30:20.399 --> 00:30:20.740 And they said, 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:20.899 well, 00:30:20.980 --> 00:30:21.819 the reason I failed 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:23.359 was because I didn't study 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:25.799 because I was out 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:26.639 till 1 a.m. 00:30:26.659 --> 00:30:27.659 every night this week 00:30:27.659 --> 00:30:28.439 doing work 00:30:28.439 --> 00:30:29.339 for the Christian Union. 00:30:30.659 --> 00:30:31.579 And he said, 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:32.939 now that sounds pious, 00:30:33.439 --> 00:30:34.500 but he said, 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:36.339 God called you 00:30:36.339 --> 00:30:37.740 to be a student first. 00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:40.619 And to work for the Lord 00:30:40.619 --> 00:30:42.039 is not to replace 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:44.059 nightly evangelism 00:30:44.059 --> 00:30:44.619 till 1 a.m. 00:30:44.619 --> 00:30:45.740 with the primary calling 00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:46.899 you have during exam week, 00:30:46.939 --> 00:30:47.799 which is to study 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:50.139 and to do your job excellently. 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:52.500 He gave another example 00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:54.240 to the office worker. 00:30:54.359 --> 00:30:54.759 He said, 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:56.500 Paul's calling us here 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:57.839 to work for the Lord 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.599 wholeheartedly, 00:30:58.680 --> 00:30:59.180 and that means 00:30:59.180 --> 00:31:00.500 every morning 00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:01.159 to wake up 00:31:01.159 --> 00:31:01.899 and fight the, 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:02.639 what's the difference 00:31:02.639 --> 00:31:03.159 in a Christian 00:31:03.159 --> 00:31:04.220 when the gospel 00:31:04.220 --> 00:31:05.039 gets a hold of your life 00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:05.659 and you come to work? 00:31:05.960 --> 00:31:07.279 You fight the drudgery 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:08.200 in the morning. 00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:09.299 When you wake up 00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:09.680 and you think, 00:31:09.779 --> 00:31:10.200 oh boy, 00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:10.779 not again. 00:31:11.919 --> 00:31:12.259 He says, 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:13.319 a Christian says, 00:31:13.619 --> 00:31:13.799 yes, 00:31:13.859 --> 00:31:15.220 I do struggle with that. 00:31:15.339 --> 00:31:16.440 I do feel that way. 00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:17.880 But when you realize 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:18.980 I gotta go to work again, 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:19.320 he says, 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:20.000 do not do it 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:22.779 in a begrudging manner, 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:24.279 but from the heart 00:31:24.279 --> 00:31:25.140 wholeheartedly 00:31:25.140 --> 00:31:26.340 saying today 00:31:26.340 --> 00:31:27.400 I get up 00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:28.500 and this is hard, 00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:29.519 but I'm called to work 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:30.019 and I'm gonna work 00:31:30.019 --> 00:31:30.460 for the Lord 00:31:30.460 --> 00:31:31.039 and I'm gonna work 00:31:31.039 --> 00:31:31.860 for the glory of God. 00:31:32.100 --> 00:31:32.980 God made me to work 00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:34.120 where it pleases the Lord 00:31:34.120 --> 00:31:35.620 and I'm gonna give 00:31:35.620 --> 00:31:36.460 my whole heart to it 00:31:36.460 --> 00:31:37.279 as much as I can 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:38.640 even in a difficult environment. 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:39.580 He says, 00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:40.259 that's the application 00:31:40.259 --> 00:31:40.720 of the text. 00:31:41.460 --> 00:31:42.340 So here's the takeaway 00:31:42.340 --> 00:31:43.480 and the final word 00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:43.960 and I'll pray. 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:46.240 How do you serve 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:46.840 the Lord at work 00:31:46.840 --> 00:31:47.299 this week? 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:49.059 Number one, 00:31:50.220 --> 00:31:51.420 do a good job 00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:52.180 especially when 00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:53.100 nobody's watching you. 00:31:54.120 --> 00:31:54.700 Number two, 00:31:55.180 --> 00:31:55.819 the way to serve God 00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:56.100 at work 00:31:56.100 --> 00:31:56.819 is to bear 00:31:56.819 --> 00:31:57.940 with a difficult 00:31:57.940 --> 00:31:58.539 co-worker, 00:31:58.720 --> 00:31:58.980 boss, 00:31:59.019 --> 00:31:59.620 and relationship 00:31:59.620 --> 00:32:01.259 in ways that other people 00:32:01.259 --> 00:32:01.720 in the office 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:02.519 will not bear with them. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:04.079 Number three, 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:05.259 the way to serve God 00:32:05.259 --> 00:32:05.680 at work 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:06.360 is to seek 00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:07.120 the common good 00:32:07.120 --> 00:32:07.740 of society, 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:09.620 to make something 00:32:09.620 --> 00:32:10.140 wonderful 00:32:10.140 --> 00:32:11.000 if you're able, 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:13.019 to do something helpful 00:32:13.019 --> 00:32:14.359 as far as you're able 00:32:14.359 --> 00:32:14.819 in work, 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:16.200 to serve the common good. 00:32:17.319 --> 00:32:17.740 Number four, 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:18.259 the way to serve 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:18.920 the Lord at work 00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:20.380 is with public faith, 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:22.220 never allowing 00:32:22.220 --> 00:32:23.359 this false dichotomy 00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:24.099 in the modern world 00:32:24.099 --> 00:32:25.319 between private faith 00:32:25.319 --> 00:32:26.180 and a public sector 00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:27.720 to go to work 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:28.440 as a Christian, 00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:29.539 as a public witness, 00:32:29.859 --> 00:32:30.720 using your wisdom 00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:31.779 if you're able 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:33.019 to share the gospel 00:32:33.019 --> 00:32:33.640 to somebody 00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:34.720 in a wise way. 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:36.119 And the most important 00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:36.839 of all 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:37.819 is to say, 00:32:37.819 --> 00:32:39.359 I work for the Lord 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:40.839 so when I go to work 00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:42.039 because God doesn't make junk, 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:42.819 I'm not gonna make junk. 00:32:43.619 --> 00:32:44.279 I'm gonna work 00:32:44.279 --> 00:32:45.299 as excellently 00:32:45.299 --> 00:32:46.179 as I possibly can. 00:32:46.679 --> 00:32:47.419 Let us ask God 00:32:47.419 --> 00:32:48.539 to give us these hearts. 00:32:48.659 --> 00:32:49.000 Let's pray. 00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:49.299 Father, 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:50.179 we ask 00:32:50.179 --> 00:32:51.500 that by the power 00:32:51.500 --> 00:32:52.059 of the gospel 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:52.879 you would change 00:32:52.879 --> 00:32:53.539 our relationship 00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:54.139 to work. 00:32:55.579 --> 00:32:56.220 Reorder us, 00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:56.419 Lord, 00:32:56.519 --> 00:32:57.119 reshape us, 00:32:57.240 --> 00:32:57.579 give us 00:32:57.579 --> 00:32:59.220 a reinvigorated spirit 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:00.919 to work for you. 00:33:01.159 --> 00:33:01.359 Lord, 00:33:01.460 --> 00:33:02.579 you are our true master. 00:33:03.079 --> 00:33:03.559 And so I pray 00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:04.240 for some today 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:05.419 maybe who have not yet 00:33:05.419 --> 00:33:07.299 called upon you 00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:08.079 to be their master 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:08.940 who have not yet 00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:09.659 followed Jesus. 00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:10.740 And we do pray for them 00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:11.899 now for those 00:33:11.899 --> 00:33:12.700 that might be pondering 00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:13.440 that in their life 00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:14.359 in this very room 00:33:14.359 --> 00:33:15.159 and pray, 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:15.399 Lord, 00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:16.240 that you would help them 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:17.500 see how practical 00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:18.519 Christianity is 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:19.839 and how powerful 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:20.960 your acceptance 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:21.700 through the cross 00:33:21.700 --> 00:33:22.339 is for them. 00:33:22.639 --> 00:33:23.480 And we pray that now 00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:24.359 in Jesus' name. 00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:25.119 Amen.