Moment to Moment Mindfulness that I Belong to Christ While In My Business Endeavors
Colossians 3:22-4:1, Ephesians 6:5-9
Part of your ministry that God uses you to accomplish is to help other ministers to accomplish their ministry. If you are not doing this ministry, then the question is; "Why?"Trusting God in Making Me to Make Ministries More Effective in One Easy Step
Colossians 4:2-4 · Ephesians 6:18-19
(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes are throughout sermon)
Please turn to Colossians 4:2-4. You can also turn to Ephesians 6:18-19. Ephesians 6:18-19 is the parallel to Colossians 4:2-4. As we are turning there, I want to remind us of an important fact: It is an amazing grace-privilege to be talked to by the Spirit, through the Scriptures, by the God of the universe. Likewise, it is also an amazing grace-privilege for God to urge us to devote ourselves to the amazing grace-privilege of talking to Him. We know for a fact that not only can we talk to God and petition Him for things, and intercede for others in seeking miraculous provisions, but we should do this with full assurance that God hears us with keen interest. He does this because we saved people are the ones who pray "in the Spirit," Ephesians 6:18. We also know that when we pray, we are doing what God wants us to do. On the other hand, there are multitudes of people who are immersed in false religions and various other superstitions. They think they are talking to a deity in a kind of prayer. Many of these people are not really sure if they are being heard. Some are not really sure whether they are praying in the right method that is supposed to get their deity's attention; or they don't really know for sure whether there really is a god listening to them. They do not pray like we do. They are lost in spiritual darkness. Their prayers go out into the empty darkness to dissipate into nothingness. They need to be saved by God's Spirit in a miraculous recognition of the One true God of the universe. Only in that process, will anyone pray a real prayer of communication to the real God in the spiritual rescue from the darkness. It is the prayer that God hears because it is "in the Spirit." In recognizing this, we also recognize that in the New Covenant age, both prayer and salvation are intimately married to one another in an unbreakable holy matrimony. What we take for granted as God's children, the lost are ignorant about. The lost are ignorant of these things, but this does not mean that the Holy Spirit will not choose to enlighten them at some point. The way God creates more of His children into spiritually saved beings that will be with Him forever in reconciliation is, by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. In thinking about these thing, I want us to also think about a certain aspect of this process that God has designed. In His process, God uses evangelism of the good news for the enlightenment. God does this through the ministry of Himself as the Holy Spirit. God also does this through the ministry of using His children who are created in Christ Jesus for good works that we should walk in them, Ephesians 2:10. Our primary ministry in salvation in Christ, is to take the good news of salvation in Christ, out to the world. It is our duty as God's church to spread God's word. This is ministry. It is mission. It is more. God has us communicating to others what He has communicated to us. I say all of this because I think it is very important for us recognize that part of this mission of communicating the gospel involves that amazing grace-privilege of talking to Him. It involves you and me, communicating back to God, by His own Spirit, to seek the provision of our Father specifically so that we can be effective missionaries of His word in the world. I want us to keep this in mind as we read our passages. Starting at Colossians 4:2,
"2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak." Colossians 4:2-4
The parallel at Ephesians 6,
"18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel," Ephesians 6:18-19
Please prepare your heart, to learn along with me, in this sermon titled,
Trusting God in Making Me to Make Ministries More Effective in One Easy Step
[prayer]
It is apparent that God uses His people to minister. He uses me, and this becomes evident in what I am doing, like right now. But it is important to recognize that God uses all of his children to minister. To minister is to serve Him in the Spirit. It is also to serve others in the same Spirit. This means that God uses people like you. You are minister. What I am wanting to bring out strongly this morning is that part of the ministry that God uses His people to accomplish is to help other ministers to accomplish their ministry work for the Lord. This is how the Lord has the body of Christ operating like a real body. God did not design the body to be segmented by amputation. He designed each member to exist together, and function together, as one organism. Think about this; because there are many ways that God uses all of us to help other ministers to accomplish their ministry work for the Lord. One way is through the biblical means of support through financial giving to meet ministry needs. For a lot of us, this is the one easy step that we trust God for in making us to be makers of ministries to be more effective. It is an easy step, and it is a Scriptural step. But, this morning, the Spirit is indicating, from our passage, that there is another easy step that is far more valuable than money. It is one of the most important, and effective, practices that a Christian can do for any ministry anywhere; but also, it is one of the most effective, and important, practices that Christians can do as ministry. The amazing part about this ministry is not just its incredible effectiveness, but the fact that it really is an easy step for you to do--that is, if you will do it. This morning I want us to glean four principles from our text in respect to trusting God in making me to make ministries more effective in one easy step.
/1/
The first principle I want to cover, is the easy to remember fact of what that one easy step actually is:
"3 praying at the same time for us as well, ..." Colossians 4:3
"19 and pray on my behalf, ..." Ephesians 6:19
@1 God wants us to __________________ on behalf of others. Colossians 4:3, Ephesians 6:19
Prayer is the big ministry practice that we can all do. It is easy, but for it to be a step, you need to actually do it. We all know how easy it is to pray when we want something, right? Without hardly thinking about it, we start asking God to intervene into a situation that affects our lives in some personal way. We also see in the Scriptures (like what Paul says here) that prayer is commanded to do. Paul starts out this teaching as an imperative for us to be devoted to continuous, ongoing, repetitive, prayers and petitions to God as we keep alert for things to pray for. Prayer is easy to do, but prayer, on a regular basis for God's work through ministers, is also easy to neglect. Let's consider some reasons for the neglect. One reason why it is easy to neglect prayer for ministry effectiveness is because we are not being properly discipled in the fact of how much God wants us to do it. If we really understood how much God wants us to do something, it changes our perspective. If we approach the arena of prayer with the idea that we just happen to have a thought to pray, or we have decided to nurture a discipline to pray simply because we generally have a feeling that prayer is a spiritual thing to do, and so we do it thinking that it is optional, but yet, good, then we are in a way of thinking that can actually keep us from praying. Let me explain some more: If we approach the arena of prayer thinking that it is optional, but yet, good, then we may decide that even though it is good, it is not necessarily bad not to pray. So, in thinking this way, we make prayer an ambivalent option. When prayer is an ambivalent option, it only takes on seriousness as something to do when you feel like you want to do it based upon your own criteria. People may not say it outright with their mouths, but the underlying sense is,
"Prayer matters, but it doesn't really matter that much if I don't pray."
By the way, nobody is saying that it is good not to pray, right? They are thinking that it is not bad to not pray.
So what happens?
Prayer can easily be put on the shelf; and it often is.
This is where improper discipleship in prayer actually inhibits our prayer life even though we may have been discipled to recognize that prayer is good. Proper discipleship teaches the importance of prayer, the goodness of prayer, and the mandate to pray as God's imperative urging to you to pray. In Holy Spirit led discipleship, we notice how Paul continues to teach the responsibility to pray while urging it. Notice that directly after he prays for the Colossians specifically, Paul says for the Colossians to pray specifically. The point is that it is necessary that they pray. It does not matter how they feel. The fact that prayer is good is already a given. But the fact that Paul says that it is imperative for them to pray, and to do so on an ongoing, repetitive basis, means that it is not good for them not to pray.
Also, notice what Paul urges them to pray for. He teaches them to pray for the apostolic group (the ministers) and the ministry. The Spirit is revealing His method of ministry relationship here, where God uses all His people in concert with His Holy Spirit. The Spirit is showing us that He wants us to pray for His ministers as more than something good. The Spirit indicates that as the body is joined with, and working with, itself, in God's grand orchestration of all things, by the Spirit, that this prayer is necessary. This prayer must be done, and this is the point I am trying to press this morning. It is the point that Paul pressed to both the Colossians and The Ephesians. You say,
"But Kerry, God can, and will, do whatever He wants, and He will do it without my help."
Of course He will; but the answer to that kind of comment is:
"So what?"
God also demonstrates what else He wants you to do. He tells you to pray directly from His word, and that when you do pray, He will do things based upon the prayer that He sovereignly commands you to do.
You say,
"But, God is sovereign. God determines all things after the counsel of His will."
You are right; and good for you--you also seem to think you are a very deep thinker. But, really this leads me to ask you that fundamental question again:
"So what?"
God's sovereignty is what I have been talking about all morning. God is sovereign, and so you need to obey Him in His sovereignty and pray according to the way He tells you to do it. You need to expect Him to answer according to His sovereignty in concurrence with the practice of His command to you to pray. This is His relationship with you that He has determined in His sovereign design. This is what is good. So, this first principle is that prayer for ministry is the big ministry practice that we can all do. It is an easy ministry step. But for it to be a step, you need to actually do it. This means that you need to do it according to the mandate and discipleship of what to do from the word of God.
Over in Ephesians, Paul makes a similar request that he expects to be obeyed. Paul says to pray on his behalf. When we pray on behalf of a minister, we should be thinking of what the minister is doing. The word of God is showing us that Paul wants prayer for himself, but also for what he is doing. I want us to also think about the lasting value of this. Part of the alertness that God wants us to have in respect to ministry-prayer-needs, is concerning what God is doing in this world that has lasting value. Praying for ministers who are called and devoted to the task of spreading of the word, specifically, has lasting value. This is God's eternal Kingdom work, and such people are God's workers that we are talking about. Certainly each of us glorifies God in every pocket of our life, from our business place in the market world, to our politics, to our family. But, the mission of proclaiming God's word is the primary mission of the church. It means proclaiming the word to the body, from the body, for the body's edification. It also means proclaiming the word to the lost world culture in evangelism. This is God's mandate for the church that continually fulfills biblical prophecy. Paul proclaims our great commission as he quotes the Old Testament over and over again,
"8 But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart'--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.' 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!' 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed our report?' 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Romans 10:8-17
@2 Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the _________________ of Christ. Romans 10:17
While on earth, this is the primary mission of the church in glorifying God among the nations. We preach the word to the lost, and then when they are saved, we ground them in the teaching of God's word. All of this is good. It has lasting value. It is ministry that we are all commissioned and gifted to take part in through prayer.
/2/
This brings us to a second principle to glean from our text in respect to trusting God in making me to make ministries more effective in one easy step. It is to pray for God to miraculously open doors for the word. Paul says,
"... that God will open up to us a door for the word, ... for which I have also been imprisoned;" Colossians 4:3
@3 God wants us to pray that He will open up a __________________ for the word of Christ to be spread to the lost. Colossians 4:3
Let's call this "the open door principle." We need to think about this. When Paul wrote these words, Paul was behind prison doors. To natural eyes, the doors of ministry seemed as locked as the prison doors that confined Paul. Knowing this as his experience, Paul does not deny his imprisoned condition. He is not positively confessing away the prison doors in some kind of fictional gimmick doctrine. He is not speaking forth open doors in the world as if his confession is going to make them come into being. Paul is a real Apostle with the real revelation of reality. He does not deny the locked doors, yet Paul also does not deny the One who unlocks doors in miraculous ways. Something else that Paul recognizes is the ministry of the whole body through the ministry of the Spirit. Paul could pray for himself, and he probably does. But Paul wants intercession from the same body that He intercedes for in His own prayers. His specific request is for the body to pray for the miracle to occur from the One Who miraculously opens doors. The open door principle is that God opens doors in ministry, and He does it in respect to the prayers of His people who recognize His sovereignty. By the way, Paul uses this image of God opening doors three other times in his writings. When it comes to prayer, the language of "the open door" is something that we should learn and begin using in our conversations, especially when it comes to the ministry of prayer for the advancement of ministry. In other words, a lot of times, we don't know exactly what to seek in our prayers though we know we should seek the advancement of the gospel, and the teaching of God's word. In helping us to pray for this, the Spirit shows us that the point is that the "open door" is a biblically tangible request for what we should seek. At the end of Paul's first missionary journey, he reported to the church in Antioch about what God had done. What did God do?
"They declared all that God had done with them, and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." Acts 14:27
God opened a door for the mystery of Christ to be revealed to the non-Israelite ethnics. In 1 Corinthians, Paul explained his itinerary like this:
"I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." 1 Corinthians 16:8-9
This open door that Paul looked forward to God opening was for circumstances that are miraculously primed by the Holy Spirit for work that is called "effective." Listen carefully, The open door principle is that God wants you and me to pray for locked doors to open up for effective, fruitful, ministry. But, you have to pray. We may see adversaries, hard hits, and all kinds of problems at every turn, but this is all the more reason, in our alertness, to pray for the open doors to come. In 2 Corinthians Paul says,
"When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord;" 2 Corinthians 2:12
Paul's mission was specifically to preach the gospel of Christ. Paul did not open the door. God did. Again, what we are praying for is for God to miraculously open specific doors so that the preaching of the mystery of Christ will advance to become effective and fruitful. We want more than just an opportunity to open our mouths. We want miraculous fruit, where God gives the words, and the words effect hearts, by His Spirit that produces faith among the hearers in the wide door of effective work. It works like this:
In the saving of souls, God is at work opening doors, and He is also the one who opens up the hearts to receive and believe.
Think about Paul's missionary move into Europe when God opened a door for Paul to go there and preach the gospel for the first time. In Acts 16, we read of how Paul went to Derbe and to Lystra. When Paul got to Lystra, he arrived at the place where he picked up Timothy to go along with him on his mission. According to the record, we read that the missionary group was passing through the Phrygian and Galatian region in Acts 16:6. All of a sudden, we notice that God had closed a door by His sovereign hand. We read,
"... having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;" Acts 16:6
God opens doors for ministry, but God also closes doors for ministry. Next we read that God did it again,
"7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;" Acts 16:7
But then next, we read about the open door for ministry.
"8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." Acts 16:8-10
This is what we are praying for--the open door of God's call to preach the gospel in a particular situation that has been prepared by Him. So, we see that God opens the door for effective ministry. But there is more here. I want us to see what happens next. It is where God opens the door of hearts for the effectiveness of the ministry to produce the life changing fruit that comes from the miracle of God,
"11 So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled." Acts 16:11-13
The ministry door was opened, and so they spoke forth the word of God. What happens next is important. It is where God opens the human heart door,
"14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." Acts 16:14
This is what we are looking for in our prayers for doors to be opened. We are praying for opportunities to develop, and unfold, for the gospel to go and be preached; for it to take root, and for it to grow. Sure the open door has to do with circumstances, and places, and things; but it also has to do with the most important aspect. It has to do with people. Ministry is about people. So, just like Paul, we might think we are behind prison doors, or that a ministry, or an area, or a people group, is behind prison doors; and so instead of thinking that things have been shut down, we pray for the doors to be opened. We may think that there is a person whose heart is hopelessly imprisoned, with no way out. In other words, to human eyes, they are so vile that they seem unsaveable. We can not presume that God will not open the door of their heart. We can only know that we must pray for their heart. Paul urged for prayers to be given for people to be saved in 2 Thessalonians 3:1. He urged the Thessalonian Christians to beseech God to make the gospel become effective in the place that Paul is going in the same way it was effective among them. In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Paul urged entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all people; for kings and all who are in authority. Paul said that this kind of prayer is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people of every class, including the very authorities that opposed Christians, to be saved. But God opens the hearts of Kings, and so this is why Paul says to pray this prayer. This was Paul's prayer "wish to God," when standing before Agrippa. Paul's wish to God was that Agrippa and all who were listening, would become "Christians," Acts 26:28-29. This was Paul's prayer concerning lost Israelites, when Paul demonstrated plainly, that He relied on the miraculous door opener,
"1... my prayer to God for them is for their salvation." Romans 10:1
This is a robust understanding of our second principle: praying that God will miraculously open doors for the word to be effective.
/3/
Notice that Paul wants to minister the word of God by having more opportunities opened up to him to proclaim the word of God where the words of men have dominated. This leads to what the message is that the ministers are to speak which is the third principle to glean from our text in respect to trusting God in making me to make ministries more effective in one easy step.
"... so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ," Colossians 4:3
"... to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel," Ephesians 6:19
@4 God wants us to pray for people to share the good news by speaking the ______________________ of the gospel, which is the __________________________ of Christ. Colossians 4:3, Ephesians 6:19
What we are praying for is miraculous intervention by God for something to be proclaimed that is specific. This is important because there are a lot of truths that we can proclaim in ministry. This particular truth has to do with the good news of the mystery of Christ. This is the foundational message. It is the bread and butter of all ministry. The gospel is the good news of God that encompasses all the riches of Christ Jesus. The good news is what the lost have either never heard, or they have heard it but they do not understand. The message that we want to pray to go forth in the world, in productive fruit, is that the promised Messiah-King has come. The good news is that He came to announce who He is to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The good news is that He knew He would be rejected by them, according to prophecy, and in His rejection, He was crucified as the ultimate sacrifice for sins of both Jews and Gentiles of the world. The good news is that the sacrifice lives because He raised from the dead to triumph over death. The good news is that, in His death and resurrection, all who receive Him as Lord and Savior are saved spiritually by God's grace through faith. The good news is that this salvation means that we are reconciled to God in His great rescue where He transfers us out of the domain of darkness and places us in the kingdom of the King forever.
Notice that Paul wants prayer for God to miraculously supply the boldness for this proclamation. The easy step for any of us, is to pray for the steps of other ministers to go forth and proclaim the mystery of Christ with boldness. With the open door, boldness is necessary to take advantage of the opening. Evidently Paul recognizes that there are times when he is not bold, and there are times when he is bold. The times of not being bold are not what Paul recognizes are good. Again, Paul is the theologian. He not only knows what he needs, but he knows how to get it. On the other hand, we could be tempted to think,
"Paul, you have faith. You have been called. You have been gifted. So, what is the problem? Don't you have boldness already?"
We could even think,
"Isn't boldness a fruit of the Spirit, and aren't you full of the Spirit Paul?"
It is easy to say,
"Just go ahead and appropriate the boldness that is in you indicatively, and you will practice out of you the boldness of Christ that has already been given to you."
These are all thoughts that come from religious clichés of modern day theologians who think they understand the full counsel of God according to the riches of the mystery of Christ. But, contrary to what others think, Paul thinks, by the Spirit, that He needs the rest of the body to pray for Him to have boldness when the door is opened. Evidently, to Paul, it takes more than "appropriating" something that we supposedly already have in Christ. Evidently, to Paul, this is more than the kind of faith issue that "believes unto boldness." Nevertheless, this actually is a faith issue, where Paul is relying on the work of the Spirit through the prayers of the body for him to have boldness at the proper time. It is a faith issue for Paul to command this prayer for himself. It is a faith issue, but even in faith, apparently if the boldness is not there, then the boldness is not there. These kinds of statements in the Bible should wake up the so-called hyper-spiritually minded folks to the reality of not going beyond what is written. It will save you from wrong doctrine, which will save you from condemning yourself when you lack boldness at times, or it will keep you from judgmentally scrutinizing others when they lack boldness too. It will also keep you from idealistic beliefs about the Holy Spirit that are not the way God understands it all. It should also leads us to pray for ministers, who teach the truth, to have boldness. This leads us to also consider that with praying for the actual message, and the boldness to proclaim it, there is the fourth and last principle to pray.
/4/
It is for us to pray about the actual articulation of the message that is to come from the mouths of those who minister,
"4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak." Colossians 4:4
"... that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth," Ephesians 6:19
@5 God wants us to pray for people to share the good news by making it __________________ by giving utterance to their ___________________. Colossians 4:4, Ephesians 6:19
When we think about this prayer request from Paul, we surmise that Paul already knew what to speak, right?
Paul understands the gospel of the mystery of Christ pretty well. Further, Paul is already led by the Spirit when He speaks. He has been appointed, and anointed, to preach the gospel. By the time of this letter, Paul has already preached some of his most famous sermons. When we think about this, it seems that it would already be clear as to how Paul is to speak. Let's consider this:
Just like expecting Paul the apostle to have boldness when God opens the door for it, evidently Paul did not think it would always be clear to him how to speak, right?
Obviously, he did not think that he would necessarily have utterance given to him in the opening of his mouth without the prayer. This is an important fact for us to recognize. It is important because even though Paul knew the message, and even though he has been ministering all along, and even though Paul knows better than most people living at that time that the Holy Spirit leads Paul, Paul still thinks he needs prayer for knowing how he should speak in accuracy and clarity. But it is even deeper than this. Why? Because we know that Paul was more than likely praying for himself, right? But, Paul has the revelation. He knows the principle. Paul seeks prayer from other members of the body for what he evidently could pray for himself, because Paul knows that he "needs" those prayers. This has been the foundation of this whole sermon. God has designed ministry in this world as a "whole body" experience where all the members "need" one another as we find in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 5, and so many other places. Though we would expect certain ministers to already know what, and how, to speak, the Spirit is showing us, in a strong way, that this is not always the case. You, and I , and all members of the body, are needed to make ministers more effective in articulating truths with accuracy and clarity, and it is an easy step for us to take in doing this when we pray. When you pray for me, or for one of our missionaries we support, to make it clear in the way to speak, so that utterance may be given in the opening of our mouths, one area that this encompasses is so that the words would be as if they are the utterances of God. This is the substance of clarity and accuracy. Peter urges the great standard to which every Christian should seek to attain. It is especially important for ministry,
"11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ," 1 Peter 4:11
@6 God wants us to speak as if we are speaking the _______________________ of God. 1 Peter 4:11
When you pray for me (and other ministers too), pray that when I speak, I would do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God. Pray that my thoughts, and words, would line up with God's revealed word accurately and clearly. Pray that I would be a tool in God's hand who is like a mouth piece relaying the good news of the mystery of Christ, His kingdom, His doctrine, and His precepts. Pray that I would serve God and others in reliance upon the strength that God supplies instead of thinking it is my own strength that is supplying my ministry. Pray that I would speak the utterances of God in contrast to my own personal philosophies. Pray that the word of God will come out of my mouth and cut through the thick darkness, as the shining sword of the Spirit blinds men to the ground like Christ blinded Paul, while instantly opening their eyes to the things of the Spirit in the miraculous work of God where He raises them up to seat them at the right hand of the Father in Christ Jesus!
As I finish up this morning, let me give you four areas to pray for me (and our missionaries) to be clear in respect to the way I (we) ought to speak, concerning the utterance to be given to us in the opening of our mouths with the mystery of Christ. The first is that we will consistently use what God has given for true profit. Pray, pray, pray, that we will commit to sticking with Scripture for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and training in righteousness.
"16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
@7 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for __________________, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be __________________, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The second is pray, pray, pray, that we would be careful, and
"... not to go beyond what is written," 1 Corinthians 4:6
Pray that the subtle taint of personal philosophy, and doctrines of the world, will not creep into God's message. The third is, pray, pray, pray, that we would,
"Be ... accurately handling the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
Pray that our interpretation, our understanding, and our application, will be accurate, and precise. The fourth is, pray, pray, pray, that we would focus upon Christ, and that our message will be Christ exalting. Paul said in Ephesians concerning the same mystery of Christ that he is asking prayer for proclaiming accurately and clearly,
"4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the good news, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;" Ephesians 3:4-9
Christ Jesus is our all in all. The ultimate message to preach boldly is the unfathomable riches of Christ, but it must be preached accurately; it must be preached precisely, and it must be preached with clarity. These are the things that need to be proclaimed without compromise and watering down the truths of God's word in His New Covenant.
I strongly urge all of us to pray for ministers. We need to pray for ministries in general. Remember the easy step which is the first principle. Prayer is the big ministry practice that we can all do. It is easy, but for it to be your step, you need to actually do it. Start making it your step in your daily walk. Secondly, pray for the miracle of the open doors for the word. The open door principle is answered by God in amazing ways. But for us to see the answers, we must pray and ask in our intercessory ministry. Thirdly, remember that we are praying for something to be proclaimed that is specific. We are praying for the proclamation of the truths of the good news of the mystery of Christ. This is the foundational backbone of our message. It is the bread and butter of all ministry. Finally, remember that we must pray about the actual articulation of the message that is to come from our mouths. It must be accurate and clear. This means that it must be Scriptural. This means that we must not to go beyond what is written. We must accurately handle the word of truth. It must be clear. And this always means that that our message will be Christ exalting. When you do this, then you are trusting God in making you to make ministries more effective in one easy step of prayer. Amen.
@1 God wants us to __________________ on behalf of others. Colossians 4:3, Ephesians 6:19
@2 Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the _________________ of Christ. Romans 10:
@3 God wants us to pray that He will open up a __________________ for the word of Christ to be spread to the lost. Colossians 4:3
@4 God wants us to pray for people to share the good news by speaking the ______________________ of the gospel, which is the __________________________ of Christ. Colossians 4:3, Ephesians 6:19
@5 God wants us to pray for people to share the good news by making it __________________ by giving utterance to their ___________________. Colossians 4:4, Ephesians 6:19
@6 God wants us to speak as if we are speaking the _______________________ of God. 1 Peter 4:11
@7 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for __________________, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be __________________, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Please turn to Colossians 3:22. This morning, we are studying 3:22 through 4:1. Along with this, we will be using the parallel passage of Ephesians 6:5-9. To get the context of both passages in Colossians and Ephesians, we recognize that Paul has been touching upon relationships that should be lived according to a proper way. He has a focus upon the authority and submission order. Paul starts with wives submitting to husbands, and then to husbands treating their wives properly in love; then to children obeying parents, and then fathers treating children properly. Now Paul is addressing slaves, and masters.
As I prepared to preach from Colossians 3:22, I have been mindful that we study God's word to assimilate biblical principles. We want right doctrine. We also want our doctrine to drive our actions. To do this, we must rightly handle God's word. In so doing, we can learn from the riches that are there. Sometimes this requires mining nuggets of treasure that are not quickly evident for our own personal life application. Our passage, that we are studying, is addressing the relationship between slaves and masters. In our country, we do not have the same kind of master-slave relationship that existed in the Roman world of the Colossians and Ephesians contexts. The closest relationship we have, that emulates this, is the employee's submission to an employer; the authority of delegated management over certain employees, and the way that business owners and managers relate to employees. For some of us, the figures of speech like,
"I'm a slave to my job."
or
"My boss is a slave driver,"
are metaphors that show that the work-world can be thought of as closely related to these things. We are going to approach these passages with this sense in mind of taking the contextual package of Paul's specific teaching, and unpacking principles out of it to apply to our own lives. The main principle we are mining out of this treasure, for our edification, is to be manifesting the inward Christ out of us in our attitudes and actions. Considering these things, we read,
"22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. 1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven." Colossians 3:22-4:1
And Ephesians,
"Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him." Ephesians 6:5-9
Let's all prepare our hearts to learn from God's word together in this sermon titled,
Moment to Moment Mindfulness that I Belong to Christ While In My Business Endeavors
[prayer]
We all know that we belong to Christ. It is our great privilege in being saved. He purchased us on the cross. We are His. We know that we serve Him as our Lord--as Master. I want us to consider that there are times that we realize this in a pronounced kind of way; like for example right now when we are consciously focused upon thinking about it. It is easy to have our thoughts in this area when we are gathered together with the body of Christ, talking about it. At certain times, the sense that we are serving the Lord is strongly at the forefront of our minds. It is strong when you set out to share the gospel in evangelism. Sometimes it is evident to us by just being in the atmosphere of the lost. The contrast of the lost world culture is so strong that we sense our own spiritual regeneration, differentness, and values, in a pronounced way. We get a profound realization that we serve the perfect One. We know we are different, and in a certain manner, we feel different. We know the strength of the fact that we belong to Christ when we are taking up a prayer request and petitioning the Father in intercession. We certainly have a moment to moment awareness of this when we are consciously setting out to minister to the other members of the church in some spiritual way. I especially get a heightened focus of serving Christ when I am preaching. What I am wanting to convey right now, as a real foundational truth, is that we really are different, and because we really are different, God does not want us to leave our spirituality at home in the arena of, moment to moment, serving the Master. He does not want us to leave the sense of serving Him back in the church meeting as we go out the door to face the business world. There may not always be a heightened sense of our spirituality in work, but the Lord wants us to learn to put on the mind of Christ while there. He wants us to grow there. He wants us to thrive. He wants us to be so heavenly minded that we are nothing but earthly good to our Master. The Lord wants us to recognize that His business is our business each moment among the world of business. But, there is an amazing phenomenon that I have seen. There is a tendency for many Christians to begin acting more like they belong to the lost sinful world culture when they are in the arena of business dealings than like they belong to the Lord that they serve in other places. We might say that they are distracted by the world while among the lost world culture. We might attribute it to deception. Both distraction and deception are real reasons for this. Nevertheless, the ambition of the Lord for us is that we constantly, and relentlessly, seek to be mindful that we belong to Christ while in our business endeavors. It fosters the manifestation of Christ in us that must come out. It advances the good news of Christ where we are the good news carriers who shine the Light of Christ in the dark world culture. It brings glory to God in the middle of the glory of man. The Spirit speaks to this in our passage by speaking specifically to slaves and masters. For us, I want to draw out five principles for moment to moment mindfulness that we belong to Christ while in our business endeavors, whether we are in positions of leadership, or whether we are subordinate workers to some degree.
/1/
The first principle that I want to touch upon for moment to moment mindfulness that I belong to Christ while in my business endeavors, is that God wants us Christians, who are employed in the world, to recognize our duty to obey our employers and bosses,
"Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, ..." Colossians 3:22
"Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, ..." Ephesians 6:5
Ownership of people in a slavery system is not practiced at this point in time in our nation. In respect to slavery in the ancient world, we need to know that the practice was common and normal. In the early church, many of the first Gentile believers were slaves. There were also Christian slave owners. In addressing slaves, here, Paul is showing that slaves, who are saved, are on the same spiritual level as all who are in Christ. Paul establishes this by speaking directly to slaves, which he expects to be in the same church meetings with masters who are their brothers in Christ. It is difficult in our culture to understand the stark beauty of this. Paul is showing the spiritual unity of all people by addressing each together in a manner that was not the typical custom of that culture. Spiritual unity is always a big concern of God,
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28
@1 In our salvation, all of us are equal spiritually. We are all ___________ in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28
Paul also shows something else that weaves into the unity in Christ. He affirms that the authority structure is real. Consequently, the authority structure must be respected to fulfill godliness. This is important to see. Paul is not some liberation theology philosopher who wants to invent some kind of egalitarian social agenda of the 21st century back onto the culture of the New Testament. Paul's teachings on equality stop at our humanness, our salvation, and our value, as all who are One in Christ Jesus spiritually. Other than that, Paul's teaching is clear: There are still Christian parents and their subordinate Christian children. There are still Christian husbands and their subordinate Christian wives. Physically, there are still Jews, and there are still Greeks. Physically, there are still male humans and female humans. Physically, there are still masters and there are still slaves. The point is that all are one spiritually, but all are not one in their design, roles, functions, and individuality. So, Paul speaks to both aspects of our existence--the physical and the spiritual. One concern has been with authority. The clear teaching here is for slaves to manifest the Holy Spirit through godly obedience to earthly authorities, which would be their masters.
In looking at this, the command for slaves to obey masters, means that the command is needed. Disobedience evidently was a problem, even among Christians. This reminds me of when I was in a management position at a large company. There were people who would come in and be hired. As they would be employed over time, it started becoming obvious that some of them had a problem with being managed. These kinds of people demonstrated that they did not like having a boss, though having a boss was part of their job. The problem occurs because they not only disrespect the authority of others, but they respect their own authority more.
Then what usually happens with these kinds of people?
They tell themselves that obedience is optional. They decide to obey their own selfish selves to their own detriment. In other words, instead of operating under the presupposition that the management must be respected and obeyed, I noticed that those kinds of employees operated under the philosophy that they would only do what they needed to do to keep from getting fired and then they would only do it in a begrudging manner. If they could get by without obeying the management through clever tactics, then they would typically try to do so. Sometimes there was a personal disrespect for a certain manager. They did not like the person, and so because they did not like the particular manager, they would not respect the authority. They loathed the directives given to them from that particular boss. These kinds of employees, by nature, are a problem for business. Since they think obedience is optional, then they should not act surprised when the management thinks that their job position is optional. They should not be amazed when the management tells them to go somewhere else to practice their philosophy of disobedience. Unfortunately, being fired is the last directive by an authority that such people must willingly obey. For us Christians, what I am wanting us to see, is that the obedience to authority principle can be gleaned from our passage to be applied to employees with their bosses. God wants there to be moment to moment godly obedience. God wants this for a very big reason that has to do with Himself. It is so that we express the fruits of the Spirit to those around us, glorifying God in our lives, and grow spiritually in our character through our circumstances. Again, to do this, we must recognize this first principle: It is our duty to obey our employers and bosses.
/2/
The Second principle for being mindful that I belong to Christ while in my business endeavors is that my obedience should go higher than pleasing my boss,
"... not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord." Colossians 3:22
"... with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers," Ephesians 6:5-6
To obey authorities while we are legally employed under them, is a manifestation of the love of Christ. In this way, we are not merely putting on a manipulative show. When we are demonstrating Christ in us, then we are not trying to impress people by doing things in a certain way only because we know we can manipulate them. It is very easy to get into the habit of doing things just to be seen for a manipulative effect. God wants us to go higher than this. The reason is because if we are doing things merely to be men pleasers, we can appear like we are sincere, even though we are pretending. The Spirit tells us that the remedy for this comes from the heart because that is where both the potential problem, and the consistent remedy, dwells. We might have this idea that God is mainly interested in outward show at work, but the reality is that God is more interested in our inward heart and what it produces in sincere spirituality. All kinds of people can put on an impressive outward show. Atheist can do it. Certain Politicians can do it, and we see them blatantly demonstrate their dramatic charade every single day. Legalistic people, who claim to be Christians, who bear standards of perfectionism, can do it too. Nevertheless, at the same time, God is telling us that our Spirit led outward show in business is important.
So, what do we do?
The Spirit is indicating to us that we are supposed to bring our heart into conformity with the leading of Christ. We do this by serving our earthly authorities with the same sincerity of heart that we have when we serve Christ. In saying this, I don't want to be taken wrong. If we try to serve Christ out of doing some sort of ethics list to try and make ourselves acceptable to God, which essentially replaces the obsolete Old Covenant Law of Moses, then we are not serving Christ properly. The thinking process is that if we do the list, then we have done what it takes to make God accept us; or we have done this thing, or that thing, and now we have done our part to earn points with God.
There are many reasons for why we serve Christ. Certainly, we do so because He tells us to do so. But there is a deeper foundation to this. We serve Christ, first and foremost, because of one essential reason. We do so because He loves us. It is because He loves us, and puts His Spirit of love in us, that we are enabled to love Him, and so we do. In our Spirit caused love for Him, we serve Him. This is the key. The main point is that when we serve Christ, we do so with sincerity of our changed and empowered heart because we are doing more than making a show of things to try and get His favor. Now think about this--Our moment to moment sincerity of our changed heart is what we are trying to nurture on the job. This is totally counter cultural. The principle is not because we love our job that we do these things in the work world. The principle is not necessarily because we love submitting, that we do these things. The principle is because we love our authorities with the love of Christ shed abroad in our regenerated heart.
We also notice that Paul says that we are supposed to serve, fearing the Lord with fear and trembling. The phrase, "fear and trembling" is a figure of speech. It was used often in the koine Greek of that time. The sense is "awe and reverence." Paul uses this expression in many places in the Bible. For example, Paul uses this same expression with Titus,
"15 His [Titus's] affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling [awe and reverence]." 2 Corinthians 7:15
What Paul is saying is that the Corinthians had high respect and reverence for Titus. He is not saying that they were afraid of Titus. Likewise, Paul tells the Philippians to work out, by performing and cultivating, in their daily lives, what God has already worked in them by His Holy Spirit; and then Paul gives the reason why,
"12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling [with awe and reverence]; 13 because it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:12-13
@2 The reason why we work out our salvation with awe and reverence is because it is _____________ who is at work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 3:12-13
The meaning that Paul is conveying is that, as the Christians in Philippi perform their saved lives each day, they should do so with awe and reverence of the fact that God is at work inside them to will and work for His good pleasure. It is an awe inspiring thought for all of us. We serve the Lord, and in our serving, we do so in high respect and reverence for Him--especially as He is working in us while we are at work. Paul is not telling slaves to live in horror and fright of either earthly authorities or of Christ. The main thrust of this second point, then, is that God wants our obedience to go higher than pleasing the boss. Our obedience should be an extension of our life-change. It should be sincere, from your heart, being led by the Spirit, in love, in seeking to please your Lord.
/3/
This leads to the third principle for moment to moment mindfulness that I belong to Christ while in my business endeavors. I need to be recognizing that I really am working for the Lord as I work anywhere, doing anything. Therefore, I should be doing my work heartily for Him.
"23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." Colossians 3:23-24
"... but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men," Ephesians 6:6-8
@3 Whatever you do, do your work heartily for the _______________ rather than for _____________. Colossians 3:23-24
Notice how God brings this back to Himself. In a sense, God always stands in front of the authorities that we must obey. In other words, we must look to Him when we look to our authorities. The Spirit clearly tells us that it is the Lord Christ whom you serve. I really think we need to pause and consider this the way the Spirit wants us to realize it. Whenever I have been in the secular work place, whether in lower level positions working for others, or in upper management, what I have been aware of was the fact that I was serving the interests of the business, and of those who were above me. I saw the same thing in businesses I have owned. Everything in the natural world has the appearance of a big human generated system of businesses, jobs, and commerce that goes on in all these interconnected fibers of society in self perpetuation. In each segment, people are leading people, at least it appears that way, and others are serving them. Very little of it has the immediate outward appearance of being service to the Lord. We are born into this pattern of how things are viewed. Consequently, we grow up, and we move along through life, and we experience what is here according to the influence of the lost world culture. But, what the Spirit is telling us is that there is a spiritual dimension to all of it that is supremely real. God wants us to understand it in moment to moment mindfulness as we operate in its midst. It is a faith issue. It is where we walk by faith in God's sovereign hand over us, and not by sight of the other hands that are over us. In faith, what we realize is that, wherever we are and in whatever we do in the physical world, we are serving Christ. In faith, we need to also realize that we really are serving Christ while on the job working for someone else while we are serving that someone else too. How does this practically change things? Since we are to be Lord-pleasers instead of man pleasers, it changes everything doesn't it? It changes everything when we seek to please Christ as His slave every moment of our life,
"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
@4 "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of _____________." 1 Corinthians 10:31
This kind of work comes straight from our redeemed heart. It is where Christ lives in you spiritually, empowering you with His mind that you have in discipleship. In your faith walk at work, what this means is that whatever you do, do your work heartily, from the heart, as for the Lord rather than for men. Instead of thinking,
"Okay, I'm going to get through this. I'm going to do what it takes to please my earthly boss,"
we think differently. It is where we consciously think "to" Christ. What I mean by thinking "to" Christ, is like a kind of prayer dialogue. You have heard Him talk to you through His recorded word. You say,
"When did I hear Him?"
You've heard Him this morning. You hear Him whenever you read the Bible. Moment to moment hearing occurs whenever the thoughts of the Bible become your thoughts through the transformation of the renewing of your mind. When His word is your memory, then that memory is His thought He is sharing with you in your heart. So, when you consider what the Lord is saying to you, you say back to Him,
"I am here at my secular job. Lord, I am not working to be merely a man pleaser. I am working for you; to please you. You are my Master. I am serving you Lord. My obedience to my boss is because of my obedience to you. I am going to do this job just as if you are the one directly over me."
God wants it to be this way, and when it is this way, it really changes things because you are ministering now at work as a living testimony of a follower of Christ in personal interaction with your Lord. Again, you go from being merely a money maker in the work world, to a minister in the work world. The contrast is that when we work as mere man pleasers, we are working in the principles of the temporal realm; and just like everyone else in the world, our hearts quickly get set in its temporal standards. We get immersed in the worldly taint that infects the business world all around us. Even ambition in the world is different from ambition in the Kingdom of Christ. So, we are to work in such a way that we are seeing that the Lord, and His will, is in the eternal perspective. We work each day as unto Him, in love, awe, and reverence, knowing that we will receive the reward of the everlasting inheritance of glory that awaits all of us forever after we leave this temporal world behind with all its jobs, businesses, labors, commerce, bosses, managers, business owners, and all of that which is passing away. The point is that serving Christ never passes away.
/4/
This leads to the fourth principle for moment to moment mindfulness that I belong to Christ while in my business endeavors,
"25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality." Colossians 3:25
"8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free." Ephesians 6:8
The principle is not only do we serve the Lord in the work place, but we also answer to Him. In considering this, we need to understand that in whatever we do in this life, we must always have comfort in the fact that we are saved by grace in eternal spiritual salvation.
With this in mind, there is another principle that goes along with this grace from God. The same grace that saves us in eternal spiritual salvation, is the same grace that molds us by giving us the consequences of the wrongs which we do in this life without partiality. Paul could have written this to Christian slaves of that generation with an eschatological future sense in mind, where he affirms that when Christ comes, He repays His people in kind. It could be possible that this is what Paul meant, but there is another principle at work here that is obvious from other passages such as 1 Corinthians 11. It is the principle where the Lord deals with us every day because He is intimately involved with our lives. It is the doctrine of God's discipline for growth of those whom He loves. In 1 Corinthians 11, we see the principle where people are rebuked for participating in the Lord's supper communion meal in an unworthy manner,
"27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world." 1 Corinthians 11:31-32
The principle is that the discipline of the Lord in this life is for our good. It keeps us from the condemnation that belongs to the world. This is a solid doctrine for attaining spiritual growth. We see it in Hebrews too,
"5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 'My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.' 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:5-11
@5 Our Father in heaven disciplines us for our _______________, that we may share his holiness. Hebrews 12:5-11
Disciplinary training (paideia), reproof, and chastisement, in our daily lives from God, is for our good so that we may share in His holiness, and bear the peaceful fruit of righteousness, from the Spirit that dwells within us. In our Colossian text, Paul says, "he who does wrong." Paul is using a Greek word that is a present participle that indicates that this kind of slave is an ongoing wrong doer as an affinity. The underlying tone here is a call to repentance, because the one who has this affinity, and does not repent, will receive payment from the great Boss in heaven concerning what he is doing. I want us to notice the layered theme here for how the Lord deals with us in this life: God molds us by letting us reap what we sow. I also want us to notice that Paul, led by the Spirit, does something that is fascinating and comprehensive:
· In Colossians, Paul speaks of reaping from the ongoing wrong.
· In Ephesians, Paul speaks of reaping from any good thing being done.
When we put these together we get a full revelation of the principle of reaping and sowing in this life where all of our actions provide the fertile ground for growth. There is a good side of it that has the sweet savory flavor of physical, mental, and emotional, blessing; and there is a bad side of it, where we get the bitter taste that is so sour that we wish for the sweetness we could have had by obeying the Lord like we should have. Ultimately, all sides mold us in the (paideia) discipline of God, because God uses everything as part of conforming us to the image of Christ. At the imperative level of what God tell us he wants from us, He says He wants us to do the good things expecting to reap the sweet fruits of the good seeds we sow. Whenever a Christian is in the work place, there are numerous temptations that face them to do wrong. One big one is to cheat the company out of time. It can happen at the time-clock where extra time is logged in that really hasn't had any work added to it. Salaried, and contract, workers can do the same kind of thing. Putting more work time onto one's pay record than what was really being accomplished is stealing money from the employer. Just being some place with your body, and actually working with your body, are two different things. This can also happen in other ways throughout the day too. Robbing a business of time also comes in the form of goofing off. Whenever someone is goofing off and not really doing what their job description is, then they are being paid for nothing, which means they are cheating the company. All these things seem sweet, but in the end they bring the sour payment from God that He promises. The questions of principle to ask is:
"Do I think it is okay to cheat Christ?"
The answer is "no."
Then why are you cheating others?
You may think you are accomplishing a lot by accomplishing nothing, but in reality, you are doing two important things that are very detrimental:
· You are grieving the Holy Spirit.
· You are also reaping what you sow.
You can not change these facts just because you try to ignore them. You can not change these facts just because you refuse to believe that they are valid. He who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. As Christians, we will reap the negative consequences of these actions in our service to Christ because He is who we work for. In the process, God is molding us for the good, but in the meantime, what you are reaping from God (as your payment from Him) for the moment seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it, Hebrews 12:11. On the other avenue of this principle, whenever we are in the work place, there are numerous opportunities to do good as unto the Lord, and the Spirit says that we should be knowing, and assured, that whatever good thing we do, we will receive back from the Lord. The point here is that you may not think you are getting the proper recognition that you want at work. If you think you can get a better job then that is fine. If you want to start your own business then that is fine too. But, in the meantime, God wants you to do your best in serving Christ at your workplace. This means moment to moment mindfulness that I belong to Christ while in my business endeavors, and so I need to be the one who consistently does excellent things, whether my boss appreciates it or not. Here is the important thing to remember:
You absolutely will receive good from the Lord.
This is a Scripture promise that you can hold on to. I can not tell you the exact package the good will come in. It does not always come in a manner that we expect, or we want. But it will come.
The principle is an unbreakable fact:
Whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. You can bank on it.
/5/
This leads to the fifth, and final, principle for being mindful that I belong to Christ while in my business endeavors. It has to do with business owners who have authority over their employees. It also has to do with managers and bosses in businesses that have authority over those under them. Paul says,
"1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven." Colossians 4:1
"9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him." Ephesians 6:9
It is essentially the same principle as doing all things as unto the Lord since we all serve Him. Since we all serve the Master in heaven, all of us Christians should treat others according to the Spirit, governed by supernomianism, which is the highest (super) law (nomian)--the Law of Christ driven by the Holy Spirit. For way too many Christian managers, this is something that seems so foreign to them. They manage in a hostile manner that reflects carnality rather than true Christian love. Maybe they are afraid they will be walked on, so they go the other way and walk all over their subordinates. Maybe they were taught to manage this way. More often than not, when so-called Christian management acts in unloving ways, they are doing so because they have made that false dichotomy I mentioned earlier. They act as if it is okay to leave their Christianity at home. They think there are different rules when they get to the work world. They think "dog eat dog," and the so-called, "law of the jungle" is the jurisdiction that dictates some sort of hostile manner of survival of the fittest kind of dominance in the work place. They have been so influenced by the lost world culture, that they think that to express the love of Christ while managing on the job, is to be weak. But when they think this way they are demonstrating that they are weak and sinful. The right godly way to lead and manage is to love by manifesting the fruits of the Spirit, and God wants us to do this in His strength. The way that Paul says to lead in strength, and still manifest the Spirit, is to simply:
· Be just and fair.
That is it.
Paul is not saying for Masters to change the status of slaves in some kind of liberation theology of the last couple of generations of our time. He is not saying that they need to be all buddy buddy with everyone like there is no line of defined respect and authority position. Paul is not saying to let those under your charge walk all over you and get by with things that jeopardize the business. Paul is not saying not to fire people who are not performing in such a way as to benefit the company's needs for profit. He is saying that justness and fairness is what God wants as the specific kind of love manifestation in this area of relationship where management must maintain the integrity of the position. If you need to reprimand someone, then be just and fair about it by using a standard that considers the best for the business and for the employee both. If you need to fire someone, be just and fair about it by recognizing that to do so is best for them and for the company because they are not a right fit. If they are hurting the company as a liability, then it is not good for them to be a company hurter, nor a liability. It is just and fair to terminate their job for your good and theirs. If their employment can not be afforded anymore, then it is both just and fair to let them go. Business exists to make a living, which means to make a profit. Without bringing profit to a business, an employee becomes a liability, and that is not just and fair to the business. If the employee can not do the job they are hired to do, then they need to find one they can do to fulfill the obligation they are being paid for. Business is not the same as charitable organizations.
Ultimately, on this last principle, there is no partiality with God in respect to any of us. Every Christian leader from heads of nations, to CEO's of companies, to upper management, to lower management, all the way down to the brand new employee, is recognized as being on the same level with God. God does not show partiality like humans tend to show partiality in threatening others, or in treating some with what seems like more justness than others, or showing partiality that is based upon human standards of imbalanced fairness between people. God sees saved people as being His people. They are all equally saved and all equally His. God also sees lost people. They are all equally lost and they are all equally doomed to perish without Him. The reaping and sowing principle of these passages applies to everyone in some very tangible sense.
All of these are some vital principles that we have gleaned this morning. I urge you to remember that since we belong to Christ, then while in our business endeavors, God wants Christians who are employed in the world to recognize their duty to obey employers and bosses. Be mindful that since we belong to Christ, our obedience in our business endeavors should go higher than pleasing the boss. Our obedience should be in awe and reverence for the Lord by serving in our work as if serving Christ. This is the sincerity of our heart that God wants. This means that we should be recognizing that we really are working for the Lord as we work anywhere, doing anything, on earth. Knowing this, we should be doing our work heartily for Him. I want to reiterate that we must keep in mind that whenever we do wrong we will receive the consequences of the wrong which we have done, and that without partiality. On the other hand, whatever good thing we do, this we will receive back from the Lord, whether employee or boss, business owner or business associate. Finally, all business owners and managers must remember that since they belong to Christ, God expects them to grant both justice and fairness to those under their charge, knowing that we too have a Manager in heaven. In these ways, our business endeavors will be governed by a moment to moment mindfulness that we belong to Christ.
@1 In our salvation, all of us are equal spiritually. We are all ___________ in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28
@2 The reason why we work out our salvation with awe and reverence is because it is _____________ who is at work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 3:12-13
@3 Whatever you do, do your work heartily for the _______________ rather than for _____________. Colossians 3:23-24
@4 "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of _____________." 1 Corinthians 10:31
@5 Our Father in heaven disciplines us for our _______________, that we may share his holiness. Hebrews 12:5-11
