“The search for significance in your place of employment.” “A proper example for the work-a-day world.”
Text: Ephesians 6:5-9
Theme: “Sometimes we think that we have our religious life and then we have our secular life. They all go together. Students, what does God want you to do at your school before you graduate? Employee, what does God want you to accomplish at your place of work? Business owner what does God want you to take care of for your employees? Whatever we do in this life should be done for Jesus Himself. As a matter of fact, the scripture teaches us that it is God’s will that you do your job from your heart and unto the Lord.”
- Respect those who have authority over you.
Ephesians 6:5
Galatians 3:28
- When we render the right kind of service we are doing the will of God.
Ephesians 6:6-8
John 5:17
Genesis 1:27
1 Corinthians 10:31
- Remember God is the master overall, and He treats everyone fairly and expects the same from us.
Ephesians 6:9
Proverbs 27:18
Text: Ephesians 6:5-9
There was a man applying for a job. The manager reviewing the application said, “I’m sorry I just can’t hire you at this time, there just isn’t enough work to keep you busy.” The applicant replied, “You’d be surprised how little it takes.”
* The way we work reveals the true God we believe in. As believers in Christ, we are always being scrutinized by the unchurched. Let them see the best about Christ in your life.
Title: “The search for significance in your place of employment.” “A proper example for the work-a-day world.”
Theme: “Sometimes we think that we have our religious life and then we have our secular life. They all go together. Students, what does God want you to do at your school before you graduate? Employee, what does God want you to accomplish at your place of work? Business owner what does God want you to take care of for your employees? Whatever we do in this life should be done for Jesus Himself. As a matter of fact, the scripture teaches us that it is God’s will that you do your job from your heart and unto the Lord.”
* This morning, I would like to share with you the following lessons.
- Respect those who have authority over you.
Ephesians 6:5; “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,”
* Some will look at this passage and say that it doesn’t apply today, but I believe that we can apply the principles found in this passage to the employee and employer relationship.
* It has been estimated that more than 1/3 of the population of Rome was in slavery during the time of Paul. We have one letter that dealt with a runaway slave and his master in Philemon.
* Critics of the Bible attack Paul because he did not condemn slavery directly. But if he had done so, it would have led to armed revolt and the Christian faith would have been stamped out as an anti-slavery movement.
* Instead, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, did something else: he addressed both slaves and masters directly and showed how their faith should radically change the way that they related to one another.
* The apostles were to teach servants and masters their duties, resulting in the evils of slavery being exposed, till slavery would be eventually rooted out by the influence of Christianity.
Galatians 3:28; “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
* In Galatians 3:28, Paul tells us that in Jesus Christ there is neither slave nor free. Both are equal. The word ‘bondservant’ is used over and over in this passage. οἵ δοῦλοι. The word used here denotes one who is bound to render service to another, whether that service be free or voluntary, and may denote, therefore, either a slave, or one who binds himself to render service to another. It is often used in these senses in the New Testament, just as it is elsewhere.
* When you see your job as a gift from God and your boss as representing authority like Jesus Christ it should change the way you act at work. Paul says that we are to obey with a sincere heart.
- When we render the right kind of service we are doing the will of God.
Ephesians 6:6-8; “not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”
* Beloved, look at this verse carefully. Don’t be a people pleaser and old do a good job when you are being watched or for complements (verse 6). Instead, Paul says we are to be like bondservants rendering service from the heart all for the will of our heavenly Father (verse 6-7).
* This week I read an account of a foreman and some primitive workers under him. He found that they were afflicted with this disease of eye-service; they worked only when he watched them. But this particular foreman was the proud possessor of a glass eye, and he found that he could take his eye out of the socket and lay it on a stump where it could "watch" the men, and they would go right on working, whether he was there or not. But one day he came back to find them all lounging around. He had placed the eye on the stump, but one of the men had found a way to sneak around, come up behind the eye, and put his hat over it so that it no longer "saw" them.
* In verse 8, Paul says that whatever good we do we will receive back from the Lord. Good for Good. Sounds like something I want to invest in! Beloved, notice Paul ends this verse with the phrase; ‘whether bond or free’! It applies to both.
* Many view work as a burden. For them, work is something to be avoided. Rather than something which gives them dignity, work is viewed as demeaning. Whatever happened to taking pride in work well done? Have we, as a society, become lazy?
* The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked them this question, "What are you doing?" The first replied, "I’m cutting stone for 10 shillings a day." The next answered, "I’m putting in 10 hours a day on this job." But the third said, "I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals."
* Some think that work is part of the curse, but that isn’t true. Even before Adam and Eve sinned, God gave them work to do. But regardless of your view of work, the fact is that each one of us will spend a significant portion of our life working.
John 5:17; “But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
* God is a working, creating God. As His image-bearers, our mandate is to subdue the earth and fill it with his glory (Gen. 1:27). God has given us the raw materials in His creation, and it is our duty to use them to image Him by creating things ourselves. When we work, we are creating in a way. Say a product or providing a service. When doing these things, we reflect the glory of the creator.
1 Corinthians 10:31; “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
* In 1986, a group of researchers published a study of Japanese mothers and mothers in Minneapolis. The mothers were asked to rank the most important things that a child needs to succeed academically. The answers tell a lot about the difference in our two cultures today. The mothers in Minneapolis chose “ability." The mothers in Japan said "effort."
* Many times, we forget that God is not as interested in our abilities as he is in our availability. Are you really doing a good job in your life? Check on yourself!
* A young boy was talking on the phone, and his father was listening, the boy said "Hello, sir, I was calling you to see if you could use a lawn boy to do your yard work!" "Oh, I see you already have one!" "Well, is he doing your work to your satisfaction?" "He is! Thank you, sir, I was just checking," then the young boy hung up the phone. The father looked at his son and said, "Sorry son, you didn’t get the job!" "Oh, no,” said the boy. "I’ve already got that job. I was just calling to check up on myself!"
- Remember God is the master overall, and He treats everyone fairly and expects the same from us.
Ephesians 6:9; “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
* Paul is addressing Christian slaves and Christian masters. Talk about how we are to honor our earthly boss. Years ago, I found this verse in Proverbs, I decided to incorporate it into my life.
Proverbs 27:18; “If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored.” Chaplain Flick
* I love the story of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife. She is a great example of someone who excels in work, who goes the extra mile and treats everyone with respect and kindness.
Genesis 24:12-14, “And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
* Just as he finished his prayer here comes Rebekah, look at verse 15; “Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.”
* In verse 18, she calls him ‘lord’ and gives him water and braws water for the other servants and camels. Now a camel can drink about 20 to 30 gallons of water and Abraham’s servant had 10 camels with him. That is 200 to 300 gallons of water. She did not fear work and the payoff came when she became the wife of Isaac.
Years ago, the cleaning of Michelangelo’s frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was undertaken. As the workers carefully removed the buildup of dirt and stain accumulated over the centuries, they marveled at some of the treasures the grime had hidden. Among these unseen portions of the paintings were fingerprints of the artist left unnoticed through time. Now they stood in testimony to the painter’s identity. Here was the evidence that the master artist had done the work. A part of his identity remained with the product.
* What fingerprints are people seeing in our work and life? Are they seeing the Master’s fingerprints?