God's Will for Us in the Workplace
Ephesians 6:5-9
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Series: The Book of Ephesians
(Prepared July 17, 2024)
BACKGROUND:
*The Apostle Paul was a prisoner in Rome when he wrote this letter to the Ephesians. Bible scholars generally agree that it was written during Paul's first Roman imprisonment. And Acts 28:30-31 tells us that "Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him."
*John Phillips explained that "Paul was not at liberty to go where he wished, but he was able to receive anyone who came to visit. So, Paul’s rented house in Rome became the headquarters of world evangelism. The Apostle could not go, but he led visitors to Jesus, and inspired many other Christians to keep spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul even led some of the Roman soldiers guarding him to faith in Jesus. The Apostle used 100 percent of his ability and authority to keep spreading the gospel and building the Lord's Church. (1)
*As Paul usually did, he opened this letter by giving us a better understanding of God's love and the good news about Jesus. Then in Ephesians 4, Paul began to focus on how we should live as Christians. And the heart of it is that we should live like Jesus lived: with godly goodness, kindness, humility, love, and forgiveness. But knowing our tendency to fall short, Paul also wrote in detail about how to have healthy churches and healthy families. Now we will see God's will for Christians in the workplace. Please think about this as we read Ephesians 6:5-9.
MESSAGE:
*Christianity is not just some pie in the sky, ticket to Heaven kind of religion. Christianity is soul-saving, life changing faith in the one and only Savior of the world, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Christianity means having a personal relationship with the one true God who exists in three persons, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
*Christianity is not just a Sunday morning kind of thing. It's an on-going, everyday relationship with God that should touch every dimension of our lives, including both our time at home, and our time at work. God has a plan for every part of our lives, and that includes our time on the job. In today's Scripture, we will study God's will for us in the workplace.
1. FIRST: GOD WANTS US TO BE DEDICATED TO OUR DUTY.
*We see this truth in vs. 5, where God's Word says, "Servants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ."
*Think you've got a bad boss? What if you were a slave? What if you were completely owned by someone else, who could treat you any cruel way they wanted? Just a piece of property. That was the situation in the Roman Empire. Historian Edward Gibbon estimated that the number of slaves in the Roman Empire under the reign of Claudius (41-54 A.D.) was no less than half the entire population of 60 million people. That is an astounding number!
*Thank God for the Christian leaders who helped end slavery in the Western world! Slavery is a terrible thing, and it is still openly practiced in many parts of the world. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 to 50 million people. And that doesn't count the 24 million people in North Korea or the 1.4 billion in Communist China who live under brutal dictatorships where everyone is basically owned by the government.
*Human slavery is a terrible thing, and one of the greatest sins in our nation's history. So it helps to take a quick look back at the plague of slavery in North and South America. This is a diagram of a horrible slave ship from the 1700s. From the 1500s to the 1800s, African warlords and kidnappers sold captives to Europeans. The captives were usually force-marched to coastal ports on the west coast of Africa, where they were held for sale to European or American slave traders.
*Historians estimate that between 9 and12 million slaves arrived in the New World. Typical slave ships contained several hundred slaves. They were chained together and often stacked like wood, as you see in this picture. Up to four million died on the way. (2)
*Think how horrible it would have been to be a slave. You would have been under the total control of your master, no matter how cruel he might have been. You had to get up when he said, you had to go to bed when he said. You had to work where he told you, when he told you. You had to eat what he gave you, even if it wasn’t fit for the dogs. He could beat you for any reason or no reason at all. And he could sell off the rest of your family with no warning at all.
*Well, we may not have slave drivers here today, but some of us have bosses who think they are. What are we Christians supposed to do? Of course it's okay to find another job as the Lord provides. But in the meantime, God says: "Servants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ."
*That "fear and trembling" in vs. 5 is not talking about our attitude toward our boss. It is talking about us having a reverent and humble attitude toward our God.
*In Psalm 2:8-9, God the Father was speaking to God the Son and said, "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.''
*Then in vs. 10-12, God speaks to kings, judges, and all of us, and says, "Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."
*In Philippians 2:12-13, the Word of God tells Christians:
12. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13. for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
*The "fear and trembling" here in Ephesians 6:5 is talking about us having a reverent and humble attitude toward God. The idea is that we sincerely do our absolute best at work, because this is one of the ways we can demonstrate our reverence and humility toward God. Plus, we won't reflect badly on the cause of Jesus Christ. When it comes to our jobs, God wants us to be dedicated to our duty.
2. CHRISTIANS: HE ALSO WANTS US TO SEE OUR WORK FROM A SPIRITUAL POINT OF VIEW.
*This is another great lesson for us in vs. 5-7:
5. Servants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
6. not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
7. with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
*Verse 5 tells us to serve "in sincerity of heart," and the KJV says to serve "in singleness of your heart." But this same original word is used 7 other times in the New Testament, and it is also translated as "simplicity," liberality" and "bountifulness." It includes the ideas of sincerely serving with your whole heart, and working hard without hidden, selfish agendas.
*Verse 6 says we should not work with "eyeservice, as men-pleasers. . ." What does that mean? Well, it's like the old saying, "When the cat's away, the mice will play." And God doesn't want us to work that way. He wants us to see our work from a spiritual point of view.
*Again in vs. 6-7, we should work "not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men." In other words: God wants us to see our labor from a spiritual point of view.
*Richard Foster got a great lesson in this truth when he was a teenager. That year Richard spent a summer with the Eskimos of Kotzebue, Alaska. Richard went up there on a mission to help build the first high school above the Arctic Circle.
*It was an adventure, but it was also hard, backbreaking work. One day Richard was trying to dig a trench for a sewer line through the frozen tundra. An old Eskimo man came by and watched Richard for a while. But it turned into a life-changing moment when the old Eskimo simply said, "You are digging a ditch for the glory of God."
*Those words totally transformed the experience. Beyond his Eskimo friend, no one would ever know or care about how Richard dug that ditch, -- no one but God that is. In time that ditch would be covered up and forgotten. But because of that Eskimo's words, Richard said, "I dug with all my might. For every shovelful of dirt was a prayer to God." (3)
*God wants us to see our work from a spiritual point of view, serving wholeheartedly "with good will doing service, as to the Lord." And what a difference that makes!
3. BUT GOD ALSO WANTS US TO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL RECEIVE REWARDS FOR OUR GOOD WORK.
*This is God's promise for us in vs. 8 where Paul described those Christians as "knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free." What a great promise from God! The NIV says: "You know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free."
*Those Christians in Ephesus knew for sure that the Lord was going to reward their godly excellence at work. And how did they know? -- One reason why is because Jesus had already promised rewards for His faithful servants. We see this truth in Scriptures like Matthew 10:41. There in the Amplified Bible, Jesus told His disciples, "He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous (honorable) man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward."
*Then in Matthew 10:42 Jesus said, "Whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.''
*These rewards are beyond our comprehension, but the Bible speaks of crowns we can receive. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 we see the Crown of Rejoicing. There Paul said, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" Then in 2 Timothy 4:8 we see the Crown of Righteousness. Paul said, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."
*John Phillips explained, "We may never receive recognition, reward, promotion, or praise down here, but we will receive it in Heaven. The Lord’s payday is not at the end of the week; it is at the end of our lives. Sometimes God rewards us along the way, but these encouragements are only tokens of what is to come. Payday is at the judgment seat of Christ, and our efforts will seem more than worth it all when we hear Jesus say something like He said in Matthew 25:21, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'" (4)
*Please listen to a few more of God's promises of heavenly rewards. For example, Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
*Matthew 19:27-29 shows the Apostle Peter asking Jesus a question:
27. . . "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"
28. So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life."
*Have you ever left anything for the cause of Christ? Have you ever given up anything for the Lord? Rick Warren once said, "I'm not going to kid you. If you get involved in your mission in the world, it is going to cost you. -- It will. It is going to break you out of self-centeredness and comfortable things. And it is going to cost you time and energy and effort and money and maybe even your privacy sometimes. But God has promised eternal rewards." (5)
*Again in Matthew 19:29 Jesus said, "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life." A hundred times over? That's ten thousand percent interest on your investment! You're never going to get that at any bank in this world! Ten thousand percent interest!
*Jesus will reward us richly. And we are not just talking about God's super-stars there. Yes, the Apostles will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel, but God has great rewards for all of His servants.
*Thom Rainer spoke about an interview with Billy Graham. The interviewer was curious about Dr. Graham's opinion of his ministry. And he asked if Billy anticipated great rewards in heaven for the millions of lives touched through his world-wide ministry.
*Dr. Graham answered that he was not sure of the extent of his own rewards. But he was certain others would have greater rewards than he. Billy said that "somewhere in America today, a faithful elderly woman is on her knees praying for her little country church, her family, and her nation. For maybe 80 years, that sweet lady has been faithful to her Lord. She has prayed, read the Bible daily, and taught children in Sunday School."
*Billy Graham said that lady and many like her will receive the greatest rewards in heaven. "You see," said Billy, "We are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful." And there will be great rewards for all of God's faithful servants. (6)
*Praise the Lord, Christians! The Holy Spirit of God makes a sure promise to us in vs. 8: "Whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free." Knowing this great truth can help us do a much better job. And God wants all of us to believe we will receive rewards for our good work.
4. HE ALSO WANTS US TO LEAD OTHERS WITH OUR MINDS ON THE LORD.
*This is the message for us in vs. 9, where God's Word speaks to Christian bosses saying, "And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him."
*Whenever God gives us the privilege of leading other people, He wants us to lead with our heavenly Master in mind. This means if we are promoted to a position of supervision, we should lead with the same kind of wisdom, patience, compassion, and goodness that we find in Jesus Christ. We should never take advantage of our employees, or treat them in a cruel way. Instead we should consider how our merciful Master has treated us, and follow His example.
*John Phillips told of a Christian leader who kept his mind on Christ. It was King George VI of England, father of the late Queen Elizabeth. George was a born-again believer who died in 1952. On one of the king's royal visits to Canada, local officials thought he might like to meet an Indian chief, and Chief Whitefeather was chosen for the honor. He was asked to sing something for the king, and everyone expected a native war song.
*But Chief Whitefeather was also a Christian, and he had something else in mind. Those government officials were shocked when the chief began to sing:
"I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold.
I'd rather be His than have riches untold,
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land,
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin's dread sway;
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today."
*The stunned officials waited to see how King George would react. Then the king went over to Chief Whitefeather, took him by the hand and said, "I'd rather have Jesus, too." (7)
CONCLUSION:
*That man kept his mind on the Lord. And the wonderful, good news of the Bible is that we can have Jesus too! We can have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He loves us so much that He died on the cross for all of our sins. Then 3 days later, Jesus rose again in everlasting victory over sin and death. Now He wants to forgive your sins and give you His everlasting life. That's exactly what Jesus will do, if you will believe in Him and receive Him as your Lord and Savior.
*So, call on the Lord to save you, as we go back to God in prayer. Then remember that God has a plan for every part of our lives, and that includes our time at work. Start following the Lord's plan today. You will be forever glad you did. Would you please bow for prayer.
(1) Adapted from EXPLORING ACTS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Proving the Power of God" - Acts 28:1-31 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(2) Sources:
-"Christianity and Slavery" - HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME I by Philip Schaff - https://biblehub.com/library/schaff/history_of_the_christian_church_volume_i/section_48_christianity_and_slavery.htm
-Wikipedia - "Slavery in the 21st century" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_21st_century
-Free the Slaves - "Modern Slavery: A Comprehensive Exploration" - https://freetheslaves.net/slavery-today-2/
-From Wikipedia 07/11/2024 - "Demographics of North Korea" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_North_Korea
-From Wikipedia 07/11/2024 - "People's Republic of China" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Passage
(3) Richard J. Foster, "PRAYER" - (San Francisco: Harper, 1992) - p. 172 - My Source: David Holwick illustration #2648 - TOPICS: Work; Labor; Glory of God; Servanthood; Motivation; Purpose - His Source: "Dynamic Preaching Disk, Summer 1993 - 'A'" - TITLE: "You Can Dress Them Up..." - AUTHOR: (Richard Foster) - 8/1/93 - TYPIST: David Holwick
(4) Adapted from: EXPLORING EPHESIANS & PHILIPPIANS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Heavenly Plan" - Ephesians 6:8 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(5) Adapted from "40 Days of Purpose" sermon by Rick Warren - Week 6
(6) Thom S. Rainer, EATING THE ELEPHANT - Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994 - pp. 9-10
(7) EXPLORING THE PSALMS - VOL 1 by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Portion of the Godly Man" Psalm 16:5-6 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
