Biblical Instructions for Godly Work

open up in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6. It's always fun to go and maybe speak somewhere else or kind of see how other churches do things, but I got to tell you, there's just nothing like coming home. And so it's good to be back, although man, Jared did a fantastic job. I got to listen to his message. He did a great job. So, but it's good to be back with you guys. So this morning we continue on in Ephesians

6 and we're looking at another subject. As a matter of fact, the title of this morning's message is Biblical Instructions for Godly Work. Biblical Instructions for Godly Work. Now, work is one of the most important things that we have in our lives. As a matter of fact, it comprises roughly a third of our time in life. I looked this up last night. I thought, I'm sure that there's some sort of statistic as to like how many hours we

spend working. Well, over a person's lifetime, they will work somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 to 91,000 hours. Most average people work about 2,100 hours a year. And that comprises again, about a third of our lives. That tells us that work is a really important thing because it's a very big part of our lives. Work is how we provide for ourselves. And it is how we are able to use our God given giftings and talents

in the most effective way. The Puritans actually had a philosophy and that is that work is a gift from God. And so, so when we think about it, it's really important. As a matter of fact, when Adam was created, he was put in charge of the garden, not only to name the animals, that's the first thing we always say, but to tend the garden. He was given a job to do. And Jesus, our second

Adam, if you will, was also given a job. He was a carpenter and spent most of his life as a carpenter working with his hands. This work is an important part of our lives. Of course, there's a problem with work and the problem first came because of the fall. At the fall, when Adam was cursed, and we talked about this a few weeks ago, he was told that now in the sweat of your brow, you will work the earth and

there will be great toils. So work is not a curse, but work is cursed because work is really hard because sin came into the world. But the perversion of work, we often see in our lives and we see it different ways. The first aspect of the perversion of work that we see is some people just plain refuse to work. We're seeing that a lot in our culture right now. That's why there's help-wanted

signs everywhere that you go. That's why when you go to a restaurant, half of the tables are closed because you can't be seated there and you're going, what do you mean it's going to take me an hour to sit down? There's like five tables open over there. And your server said, or the nice young lady at the front that you're trying to be as nice to as you possibly can says, yes, we just don't have enough servers for those tables because we can't get enough employees.

Which is why everybody that I know that owns a business right now says, I just can't get enough people to work for me right now. It's because some people are just plain refusing to work because there's laziness. And it's interesting because we're actually told in scripture that a man that won't work and provide for his family is worse, listen, than a heathen. So it's an important thing. But there's another aspect of the perversion of work, which is probably what

a lot of us would kind of take part in. And that's that we can complain about our jobs. Not you guys. But I think some other people probably tend to complain about their jobs. People in the world, I'll talk about them in just a minute. They tend to complain about their jobs. But you know, there's a third way that we can sometimes pervert work. And again, I think that it's always intended

to be good, but it turns bad. And that's that we can become workaholics. We can get to the place where we're not happy unless we're working. And it's all that we think about. And so as we think about these things, we know that there's a biblical balance that we strike. As a matter of fact, work's such an important part of our witness. A good work ethic and a strong ability to work

is one of the fastest ways that we can testify to our witness of our relationship with Jesus Christ. And a poor work ethic is one of the fastest ways that we can destroy that same witness. So as always, we return to what the Bible has to say and look at some instructions. And so we pick up in chapter six, verse five, and this is what it says. 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 eye service as men pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With goodwill, render service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord. And so we're going to look at the Bible and we're going to look at whether slave or free. And the masters do the same thing to them. Give up threatening,

knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven and there is no partiality with him. Now, Paul starts off with a word, a word that's going to potentially get me in trouble as a pastor. And sometimes he gets God's word in trouble because people don't fully understand. And that word is slaves. The Bible is often criticized, because people say, you know, the Bible endorses slavery. The Bible talks about it all the time.

And, you know, this is one of the reasons why I have a hard time with Judeo-Christian values is because they promote slavery. Well, first of all, the Bible never one time promotes slavery. As a matter of fact, the Bible really doesn't deal with the institution of slavery at all, because the Bible, rather than dealing with the institution of slavery, instead deals with the man. It deals with individuals, because what the Bible actually does is the Bible elevates the institution of slavery to the man. And so the Bible doesn't deal with the institution of

slavery. It elevates the slave to being a free man in Christ, because whether you're a slave, whether you are bond or free, if you are in Christ, you have been set free. And so it elevates the position of every man, whatever your social status is, to being a free man in Christ. But not only that, the Bible reduces the masters to being bond servants of Christ, to being slaves of Christ.

You see, the Bible actually transcends institutions, like slavery, and it treats every man the same. It says, whoever you are, there's really only two categories. You are either in Christ, and you are free, or you are not in Christ, and you are in bondage. Your worldly status matters little. What matters is, are you in Christ? So with that quick word about slavery, I want to move on to what it actually has to say, because these principles that

Paul lays out for us transcend all of our lives. And so the Bible really doesn't deal with the things and deal much more with an employer-employee relationship. And so once again, as he's been doing, we'll remind ourselves how this entire section started, when it said, and you be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. And it told us about three relationships where there's mutual subjection. First of all, we looked at the marriage relationship. Second of all,

we looked at the parental relationship. And third, we looked at the workplace relationship. And so once again, Paul is going to give two sets of commands, one for the employees and one for the employers. So we first look at instructions for employees. There is one main instruction that Paul gives to us in verse five, and that is this, slaves be obedient to your masters, your masters in the flesh. Now that word obedient is a really

important word. The word obedient, means to hearken to a command or to submit to. It's the exact same word that was used when he was speaking to children in relationship to their parents. Children, be obedient to your parents. Slaves, be obedient to your masters in the flesh. Once again, this is written in the perfect imperative tense, meaning it says, be constantly obedient

to your masters. It's a lifestyle that we are to live. Now, when you show up to work, there's an understanding, and we'll deal with the heart attitudes that go along with this. When you show up to work, there's a distinct understanding that the person in charge of you is actually your master. No, he's not. I'll be a slave to no man. Well, if you want to go to work,

you're going to have to let him be your master because you can be a slave to no man or you can be unemployed, right? Those are kind of your two choices. So, so you're going to be a slave to no man. You have to understand that that person is the one that's in charge of it. They are responsible for the work that you're doing, and your responsibility is to be obedient, is to do what they have told you

to do. Now, again, this doesn't feel like an earth-shattering idea, and yet the failure of this concept is what's wrong with the working world today. I would venture to say that there are several, there are several places of employment, and there are several places of employment that are at a little place just north of us that we call Strother Field, where because of the failure of this, there is complete upheaval within the company, and there's actually no work that gets done. There's a lot of sitting around. There's a lot of sleeping. There's a lot of doing nothing

because they show up and they decide, I today will not be obedient to my master. I won't hearken to his command. I will not submit to him. But that's what he tells us to do. But notice who he tells us that we're to submit to. We're to submit to our masters according to the flesh. Now, it's important that he uses that phraseology because it both identifies who we're to be submissive to, but it also plays limits on

our submission. It identifies who we're to be submissive to because we understand that they are our masters as far as this world is concerned. As far as this world is concerned, they are the ones who can submit to God. They are the ones who can submit to God. They are the ones who can submit to God. They are the ones who can tell us what to do. The reason why is because they've been

placed in authority. We'll deal with that in just a moment. But it also places limits on it because they are only our master as far as this world is concerned because ultimately we serve a higher authority. He says, slaves, be obedient to your masters. And then he gives us four heart attitudes that we are to have if we are to be obedient to God. To our masters according to the flesh. Number one, the first heart attitude that we are to have

as obedient to our masters is with respect. We are to be obedient with respect. Notice what he says beginning of verse five. He says, slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling. Now, he uses really bold words there, right? Now, when you hear those words, what do you think of? Well, those are words that actually create a

picture in your mind, right? They create a picture of fear and trembling, right? I mean, that's actually what they create in our mind. But the idea behind those words is not that we would live in constant fear of those who are our masters, but that we would have respect for those who are our masters, understanding what authority is. Now, I want you to take note of the fact that all of

these things kind of work together. If within the middle of the middle of the middle of the middle marriage relationship, there is no true understanding of authority on the part of the husband, understanding that they are under the authority of God. If there is no true understanding of the authority or no understanding on the part of the wife of understanding that she is under the umbrella of authority of her husband, then kids don't understand that they are under the authority of their parents. And if they don't realize they're under the authority of their parents, they grow up to be people who don't understand that they are under the authority of their boss.

Again, I would tell you, welcome to 2023. Because all of these things are in upheaval right now, and people don't understand authority. They don't understand that when they show up, that person can tell me what to do because they have been placed in a position of authority over me. It is not my job to decide whether or not they belong in that position of authority, whether or not they deserve that position of authority, whether or not they're good at that position of authority. It is my job to submit and respect

that authority. And it is your job to submit to and respect that authority. Because that's what you've been called to do. Slaves, be obedient to your masters, number one, with respect. I would tell you that if you would respect your employer, the potential of them respecting you is going to be much greater. So, number four. one he says do so with respect number two he says to do so with sincerity sincerity notice what he

says in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ not by way of eye service as men pleasers but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart who he threw a lot at us right there okay let's unpack this for just a minute so number one he says to do so with sincerity of heart that word sincerity means to be undivided undivided or to be wholehearted the idea is giving it 100 percent in other words when you show up to work you are to show up and give 100 percent while you're at work the way that you are obedient to your master the way that you treat your job should be with wholehearted devotion you don't understand Ryan I hate my I don't care you're still supposed to show up according to what scripture has to say

and do so with wholehearted devotion to your boss now I think that this goes to lots of different areas of our lives because I think it also speaks to those who are students and those who are athletes that when you show up you're under that authority when you show up you give 100 percent you know what I hated growing up school and you know I had to learn as a student I have to give 100 percent I'm supposed to show up and give wholehearted devotion if I don't you know what happens I don't do very well and my teacher hates me my teacher doesn't like me because I'm not showing them respect and I'm not giving wholehearted devotion I'm not being sincere in the way that I

treat things and I've learned that it's no different in my job it's no different in any place of employment I am to give sincerity of heart wholeheartedness in everything that I do he goes on to speak about what that looks like he says sincerity of your heart oh and then he throws this next clause in there as to Christ that means when you serve your boss you're actually serving Christ we'll deal with that in just a moment because we'll go into deeper detail in the in the third point about this but the next thing that he says is not by way of eye service not by way of eye service let me tell you what that means not just when the boss is looking at you but when the boss is looking at

we all know that employee don't we who when no one else is around they are the laziest fool you've ever seen in your life as a matter of fact everybody talks about how lazy they are the only one person that doesn't know how lazy that person is is the boss because when the boss shows up hey hey boss I'm working really hard look at all that I've gotten done today and you're going all that you've gotten done today I did all of that you're just with me what do you mean you got all this done today but when the boss is looking at you and you're like I did all of that the boss is around he's the hardest working guy on the face of the earth and I have a question for you are you that person are you the person everybody hates because when no one else is around

you decide now's a really good time to kick back and do nothing now's a really good time to wait around and just sort of float it out just sort of cruise out the rest of the day you know what it's about two o'clock in the afternoon it's Friday I know that I get off at about 4 30 I'm just going to kind of hide out until the end of the day I've known lots of people like that there's been times where I've been that person full confession here and one of the areas that the Lord has worked on me about the most is to be a man who works whether anyone's watching or not not with eye service notice what he says as men pleasers those who care only about pleasing people you see an insincere worker will have one concern and one concern only

have I made myself look good to everybody else has somebody seen how good of a job that I've done a worker that does so with sincerity of heart doesn't care who sees the work that they do they only care that the work is done properly they only care that the work is done the way that it's supposed to be done because they are working with true sincerity of heart because they do their best because they really want to put out a quality product because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they're not working for man they're working for God because God desires us to be obedient employees who do so with respect and who do so with sincerity now the third thing that he tells us is that we are to do so as unto the Lord as unto the Lord

notice what it says in verse 7 he says with goodwill render service as to the Lord and not to man with goodwill render service now the Amplified Bible translates that word goodwill very differently it translates that word goodwill as enthusiasm with enthusiasm render service in other words have a good attitude not complaining that enthusiasm makes all the difference in the world because it's all about how you show up in the attitude with which you show up to work do you show up with enthusiasm or do you show up with dread because I see a person who shows up with enthusiasm has and this is what one commentator said an eagerness that does not need to be told what to do next an eagerness that does not need to be told

to do next. Now I've worked with young men for a really long time and I always tell them a couple of different things. Number one, I tell them if you will show up on time and do what you're told to do, you can write your own paycheck because there are so few people that will do that. There are so few people who will show up on time and just do what they're told to do that you will never not have a job and you will never not receive a raise. Your boss will always continue

to compensate you for that because there are so few people who do that any longer. You would not believe some of the employers that I talk to who say, I've hired people, they've shown up and they've left after an hour and I've never seen them again. I've hired people and they never showed up for the first day of work. I hired people and they showed up for the first week on time and worked hard, but after that they were late.

every single day. And finally I had to let them go because I never knew, are they actually going to be at work? And so when you show up with enthusiasm and you show up, first of all, on time and do what you're told, you're going to be ahead of 90% of the people in the workforce today. But the second thing I tell them is this, if you will show up on time, do what you're told and look for what needs to be done to where nobody has to tell you what the next step is, you will own the company. Because nobody wants to do that. Everybody wants to sit around and wait

to be told what to do. Everybody wants to sit around and wait for somebody else to tell them what to do. And I'm here to tell you right now, when you see somebody who moves on to the next task without being told, you're like, whoa, I've never seen anything like that before. That's the most amazing thing I've ever, I've ever seen. Now I got to be honest, my parents

raised me with a work ethic. And if I didn't work, I was in trouble. If I didn't do the jobs I was supposed to do, I was in trouble. I got left with a list of things to do when they would go to work for the day. And of course I was the typical kid and I did them all a half hour before they got home. That's not the point. They taught me a work ethic. And if I liked my work, I was really,

really good at it. Matter of fact, for one summer, I worked out at Prairie View Christian Camp and I did grounds and maintenance out there. And I love to mow. And so no one had to tell me to do the next thing. If I finished up one section, I just moved on to the next. And I remember my boss saying, hey, who told you to go and start mowing over there? And I was like, nobody. I'm sorry. Is that

okay? He goes, I've never had an employee like that before. And so he was really, really happy with me. Now what he didn't know is, is because I like doing it so much that he could have just sat and done nothing. And I would have kept mowing the whole thing because it's my favorite thing in the world to do. Because I showed up with enthusiasm and I was always looking for the

next thing to do. And when I graduated Bible college and I had to get a job in the secular world and I got a job in groundskeeping, nobody had to tell me the next thing to do because I was stupid. But I needed to make more money than a groundskeeper could make. And so I moved into remodeling. I didn't like remodeling as much, but it paid better. And then one of the guys that I,

because I mowed yards on the side too, one of the guys that I mowed for said, hey, I own a construction company. Why don't you come to work for me? I'll pay you this. It was more than I was making at the time, a whole lot more than I was making at the time. And I was like, okay, that sounds like a great idea. And so I went to work for him. And you know what I found out? I didn't

like to work construction. I didn't like it at all. And so you know what? I did not show up with enthusiasm. I didn't show up and render enthusiastic work to my boss. Now, when he was around, I did. I always made sure that I got the job done because I had enough of a work ethic to say, I'm going to show up and I'm going to work hard, but I was never going to look

for that next thing to do. And one of the biggest things that the Lord worked on me about, one of the biggest changes that God made in my life was that my attitude toward my job had to change. I tried every which way to Sunday to try to get out of that job. I looked for other jobs, but A, no job paid like that, not without any kind of experience or a degree. And B, I knew God would

not let me go until I had learned what he wanted me to learn. I'll never forget showing up one day. We built a pool in Shawnee, Kansas. It's still there. It's beautiful. It's got a wave pool. And so I show up one day and, and, um, it's, it's like early August, if I remember correct, maybe late July, it was hot, right? And so I show up and I start doing some things and they

give me some jobs and, um, uh, the project manager shows up and he goes, did you tell Ryan about his job yet? And, um, look, if somebody shows up and says, have you told him about his job yet? That's never going to end well. Like you just need to know that now, just decide it's going to be okay because what he's about to have you do is not going to be awesome, but you just have to do it anyway, right? This is part of God teaching me to have a better attitude.

And so he said, no, I haven't. I was pretty young guy at this point in time. I think I was 25 and a little smaller than I am now and pretty agile unlike now. And, um, they said, okay, so here's the deal. We built this wave generator structure, but the footings of the concrete don't go below frost level and we don't want to tear the whole thing down and start over.

So we've talked to the engineers and we came up with a plan. Again, when something wasn't done right the first time and the engineers have come up with a plan, I love all of my engineering friends, but when the engineers have come up with a plan and you're the guy that gets to implement the plan, it's not going to be awesome. Okay. Like here's what you need to do. You need to dig

down two foot and you need to dig all the way back. Bear in mind, this wave generator structure was probably, yeah, I would say it's probably about this wide. So it's all at dirt level. So what I had to do is I had to dig a trench. Large enough for my body. Thank God I'm a small guy. I had to dig a trench large enough for my body, lay down in that trench with a pickaxe and swing and dig until I had dug down two foot and all the

way back underneath 60 to I think 75% of that wave generator structure and then pour concrete underneath of it. You know what I didn't show up with every day? Enthusiasm. I was like, here we are again, digging a hole for my body. I had to dig a trench large enough for my body. I had to dig a trench large enough for my body. Trying to dig back underneath of a wave generator structure. I had

all kinds of jobs like that. As a matter of fact, the guy that owned the company called me his special helper, right? Again, again, when the boss calls you his special helper, you need to know God is teaching you something, right? I can't even tell you about some of the jobs I have to do because I know what I got in trouble for saying a few weeks ago. I'll get in trouble for saying

what I had to do a few times, right? Let's just say there's a lot of jobs that I have to do. I have to do a lot of jobs that I have to do. I'm just kidding. There's not. That's a joke. So I had to learn some things. So I tried every which way I could to get out of that job. And I didn't show up with enthusiasm. All I knew was, I want to be doing full-time ministry. I don't like this job. I want out of it. And one day God told me, you're

going to be here as long as I need you to be here. And I remember thinking, okay. So I started praying. Lord, change my heart. Help me to be the worker that you want me to be. And so time went on and I finally quit applying for other jobs. I quit trying to get out of it. And I started deciding every day I'm going to be the best that I can be. Every day I'm going to grow. Every day I'm going to become

more. As a matter of fact, I went to my boss and said, is there any places that you would help me go to trade school so that I can learn a little bit more about carpentry so that I can continue to move up and move forward? And he said, I'm going to be the best that I can be. And I said, I'm going to move on in this job because it's probably time for me to really lock in and get good at what I do.

And three months later, I got laid off. God released me from that job because I had finally learned to show up every day and work with enthusiasm. I had finally learned to render goodwill from the heart, enthusiastic work where I was always looking for the next thing, no matter what. No matter what it was, no matter whether I liked it or not, because it was my job and my job was my witness. So you know what one of the last things I got to do before I left that job was? We were

laying sod out at a place called Engineered Air in DeSoto, Kansas. And me and my buddy, we were out there working and all of a sudden a huge downpour comes. So we, you know, you're not going to drive 45 minutes back into town. I'm just going to wait for the rain to pass. So we go and we sit in the truck and we're talking. And he had an issue with another employee there. So he's

talking to me about that. And I said, I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work. And he said, I'm going to lay out the issue that he'd had. And we talked through it. And I got to share the gospel with that guy. I got to lay out the entire gospel message to him. And you know, after I got laid off and after I moved down here, I'd been down here about six months to a year,

I get a call from that guy. He said, Ryan, you're never going to guess. I'm going to Lenexa Baptist. I've been going every week. And I thought, isn't that just like God? That when I will finally decide that what I am to do, the right kind of attitude I am to do, I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it. And I'm going to have

is to render enthusiastic work to the Lord. When I am eager about my job, he will not only open up ministry opportunities, but he will give me a contentment with your job that you've never had before because we are to work as unto the Lord. He says with goodwill, render service as to the Lord and not to men. And this is the second part that we need to understand about this as unto the Lord, as if you were working for the Lord.

Again, when I was fresh out of Bible college and I knew that I wasn't going to be paid to work in ministry, because in Calvary, you don't always get paid to work in ministries. I knew I had to get a secular job. And so one of the things I did is I went to Johnson County Community College and I went and talked to a supervisor there. And I was like, okay, I just have to find a job to supplement ministry. And the guy that I talked to happened to be a believer in Jesus Christ. Fun fact, as a

sidebar, his name was Darwin Lawyer. Can you imagine any more oxymoronic name for a Christian supervisor? Darwin Lawyer. Anyway, so he says, he says, Ryan, you need to understand something. As believers, we don't have jobs. We have ministries because we don't work for people. We work for the Lord. Now, if you know anything about Johnson County and how liberal Johnson County is, the fact that I came across a Christian student supervisor

that told me that in praise of God, I'm going to work for the Lord. I'm going to work for the Lord. With me in his office means that God was at work because brothers and sisters, you don't have a job. You have a ministry students. You're not a student. You're in ministry because God wants to use you right where you are. If you will decide that you are going to work as unto the Lord, as if the Lord

is the one that is your supervisor, as if the Lord is the one who is calling you, right now, as if I'm just sorry, it's a bad joke. As if, as if the Lord was the one who was your teacher, whatever it is, you need to work as unto the Lord because God ultimately is who we're answering to. You may have a human supervisor, but he's been placed in that authority by God. You may have a human teacher, but they've been placed in that authority by God. And you must

work not as if you were working for that employer, but as if you are working for the Lord, you see that all of a sudden holds you to a higher standard. Because now you can't be lazy. You know why you can't be lazy? Because it's not your boss that might see you. It's Jesus. Jesus is the one who sees you. And listen, you may be able to serve with eye service and your boss will see you when you're only working, but Jesus sees you when you're

not. Because he sees everything. You know what else that means? It means you got to stop complaining. Why? Because when you complain about your job, who are you ultimately complaining to? The Lord. Because who provided you with that job? You're not the one who's complaining. You're not the one who's complaining. You're not the one who's complaining. You're not the one who's complaining.

The Lord. I'm telling you, these are hard lessons I've had to learn. I'm telling you this, not because I've always been so good at it, but because God has worked me over with these things. Because I have had to be taught this in the school of hard knocks. That we work as unto the Lord. But you know what else that means? That means if I work unto the Lord, then I must maintain a godly balance.

Because the things that I do for the Lord, he would never have violate my family life. The things that I do for the Lord, he would never have violate my family life. The things that I do for the Lord, he would never have violate my ministry life. The things that I do for the Lord would never cause me to neglect my walk with him, my role as a father, my role as a husband. And so if I'm working as unto the Lord, it means I maintain a godly balance. Because if

God's desire for you is freedom, why would he put you under the bondage of being a workaholic? We work as unto the Lord. And then number four, we understand that God rewards. We understand that God rewards. Verse eight, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. He will receive a reward for the good that is done.

Now, sometimes we'll see that reward on this side of eternity. Sometimes we'll see that reward for that work on this side of eternity. Because after all, we're told in scripture not to despise the day of small things because he who is faithful with a little can be entrusted with a lot. But you know what? Sometimes we don't see those rewards on this side of eternity. That doesn't mean you don't keep working and you don't

keep trying. It doesn't mean you don't keep pushing forward because God will eventually reward. I always tell my girls this one little fact, and that's that you can only control what you can control. You can't control the rewards. God's in control of that. And sometimes he'll see fit that they come on this side of eternity, sometimes on the other side of eternity.

But the two things that you can always control in your life is your attitude and your work ethic. Those are the two things that you can always control in your life. And listen, one of these days, the right people are going to see it. The right people are going to see it and they're going to reward you for it. But it may not happen now. It may take some time. But the

only thing that you can control is your attitude and your work ethic. Because remember, you're not doing it for man. You're doing it for the Lord. Because no matter whether or not you get rewarded on this side of eternity, we as believers are to have an eternal perspective and we will be rewarded on the other side of eternity. Now, some people say you should do good whether you get rewarded or

not. It's true. But there's nothing wrong with working towards those eternal rewards. We are to have an eternal mindset. Jesus talked about eternal rewards. The apostles talked about eternal rewards. We should be looking forward to that because God rewards faithfulness. God rewards faithfulness, not results. God rewards faithfulness, not whether or not you were ever rewarded for it

on this side of eternity. You know who one of the most amazing prophets to ever live was? And I think I've shared this before. His name was Jeremiah. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. And when he was given his job, God said, I want you to go to a people who aren't going to listen, to a people who are hard-hearted, and I want you to tell them whatever I tell you to tell them. And don't despise your

youth. Don't be afraid because you're a youth. You go and you boldly proclaim what I told you to tell them. Do you know how many converts Jeremiah, had? Zero. And yet he was one of the most faithful prophets that ever lived. And I believe that he received a faithful prophet's reward, not because he saw any of those rewards on this side of eternity, but because he was always faithful. And brothers and sisters, we have to hold on to that

mentality that all I can do is be faithful, be faithful with my attitude, be faithful with my work ethic, and let God reward me. Let God handle the results. Let God take care of all of the rest because that's who God is. He is a God who rewards. And so we are told as employees that we are to be obedient, but that obedience is to have the right kind of attitude. It should be an attitude of respect, an attitude of sincerity.

We should work as unto the Lord, and we should understand that God rewards. One last thing I want to tell you about rewards. I just saw it in my notes. I forgot that it was here because once you notice what it says, it says, God rewards. God rewards. God rewards. God rewards. God rewards. It says at the end of verse eight, whether slave or free. You know what that literally means?

Regardless of your earthly status. You see, we have to understand something. We're told in scripture that many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. And right now in this world, we see a lot of people with status and we think, oh, I bet they're going to get some amazing rewards someday. Not necessarily. Then you see people with no earthly

status whatsoever. You think, oh, I bet they're probably not going to get that many rewards. But you see, your rewards aren't based on your earthly status. They're based on your faithfulness and service. And so the second set of instructions, and they're a little bit shorter, but we're still going to go over them. Come to employers. Perhaps you're sitting here today and you're going, right, I'm not an employee.

I own the company. I run the company. I'm the one that other people come to. What does God have to say to me? Well, I'm glad you asked. Look at verse nine. It says, So if you're the supervisor, if you're the boss, if you're the master, number one, you are to do the same to them. What does he mean do the same to them? Well, remember, we said that verse 21 of chapter five said that we are to be

in subjection to one another in love, mutual submission. Submission for an employee means being obedient to the boss. But submission for a master means to have the same kind of attitudes. What kind of attitudes did he tell us to have? Well, number one, you should treat your employees with respect. And I think this is really important. If you are a supervisor, you need to respect

your employees. You need to respect the people that work for you because they are not dogs. They are not pack mules. They are not just people to be used for your own financial ends. They are human beings who are performing a task for you. That means a good employer is going to make sure that as their employee is respected, number one, they're going to speak to them with respect.

Number two, they're going to compensate them properly. And number three, they're going to care about not only the employee's well-being, but also the well-being of their families. I was asked one time, when I was in a job interview for Lakeview Village, they said, tell us about the best boss you've ever had. And so I thought about a guy that I worked for some when I was in high school. And I said, it was probably this guy. And they said, what made him

such a good boss? What made him such a good employer? I said, he expected a lot of us, but he also understood that we were people. And when we made mistakes, he didn't yell at us. He told us about one that he made that was pretty simple. See, that's treating people with respect. And I learned an immense amount from that guy. I learned to not take things too seriously. And I learned that I'm going to make mistakes. And the

best thing that I can do with the people that work for me when they screw up, because they're going to screw up, is to go, let me tell you about the time I did something kind of like that. Because all of a sudden now, you don't diminish the fact that you screwed up, but you also don't feel like you're the worst loser on the face of the earth, because you've just been treated with, with respect. Employers are not only to treat them with respect, but they are to treat them with sincerity, wholehearted devotion to your employees. Again, some of the people that I've worked for, I've been blessed in this area that I've worked for people that cared about me, that cared about us, that cared about employees. And so as they knew that they were providing work

for us, they always made sure that we had something, that same boss that I worked for in construction. If you don't know very much about construction, it usually gets slow in the wintertime. And so he would make sure no matter what, that he would find something for us to do in the winter. We all did projects at his house because he wanted to keep us employed.

He had all of us go to what he called construction school one time, because he wanted us to grow as employees while he could continue to pay us. You see, that is being an employer with sincerity, because you have wholehearted devotion to your employees, because you understand that they're counting on you. They're counting on you for work. They're counting on you for a paycheck.

And you care about them as individuals. And so you're sincere in the way that you treat them. The third thing is that you treat your employees as if you are, as if they are God's employees, as if they're God's kids, as if they belong to the Lord and knowing that you ultimately answer to the Lord. And then of course, the last one is we treat our employees understanding that God is the one who will reward and listen, God is the one who will judge. And if I treat them with respect,

God will reward. And if I don't, I'll have to deal with God on that. Because especially in the old Testament, if you read some of the ways that God deals with people who did not treat others with respect, he takes it pretty seriously. So the first thing he tells employers is number one, do the same to them. Number two is to give up threatening, to give up threatening. They are

not to be individuals who constantly are threatening, whether that be physical violence, which hopefully that never, never happens in any workplace. But the constant fear that you might lose your job today, the constant fear that today could be the last day. There's no more chances left there to give up threatening. And then number three, understanding that you both serve the same master. You both serve the same master. And doesn't that sort of all of a sudden put us

on that level playing field? Is that ultimately we all answer to God. Ultimately we all find ourselves in the same place. And that's what we're doing. And that's what we're doing. And that's what we're doing. And that's what we're doing. And that's what we're doing. And that's what we're and subjection to him. And listen, God shows no partiality. We're told right there, that right

there at the end of that section, God shows no partiality. In other words, he's not a respecter of persons. It doesn't matter who you are. We serve the same God and he gives the same rewards. And so brothers and sisters, as we look at our lives as employees, as we look at our lives in the work world, we must understand that it is part of our witness. It's part of our witness for

Christ. It's part of our witness for God. And so, and so, and so, and so, and so, and so, and so, And it's part of our witness to the world that is around us. And so we should handle it in a biblical way. And may I say, knowing that Thanksgiving is coming, if you have a job, you should be thankful for the job that God has blessed you with. Amen. Let's all stand.

Again, we're heading into Thanksgiving week. And so no service on Wednesday. I hope you enjoy some time with your families. Hopefully everybody's going to have a good place to go eat some turkey or some ham or some pie or some baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, maybe some stuffing, perhaps a nice salad that has marshmallows in it. And some of those good things, pie.

I don't know if I've mentioned that yet or not. So anyway, I hope you get to enjoy all of those things and that you really get to spend some time with family. Would you bow with me? Lord, we come to you. We praise you for who you are. We thank you that you are. That you are the God who doesn't leave us wondering, Lord, how do you want us to live? You make it very clear for us in your word.

And so Lord, by your grace, through the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to be the people that you have called for us to be. Help us to work as you've called for us to work. Live as you've called us to live. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed. Let's fall short. We could sing these songs.

Every song must end.

Don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song. Lift up your... We just again thank you, God, for all the ways that you provide for us and take care of us, Lord. Thank you for how good you are to us. Thank you for your son, Jesus. Thank you for what he's done for us. God, we just come to you today with just an attitude of gratitude, of thankfulness, Lord. Lord, we just thank you for what we have, Lord,

and forgive us for complaining for what we... We don't have, Lord, God. Lord, we just thank you. We love you. We praise you. In Jesus' name. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week and happy Thanksgiving. You guys have a wonderful week and happy Thanksgiving.