1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:04,200 Good morning everyone. We have a wonderful crowd today. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,800 We have some visitors, we have some friends visiting from other 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,080 places. If we do not know you yet, we 4 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,280 hope to sometime soon, hopefully today get to know you and make 5 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,800 you feel welcome here because you are your honoured guest 6 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:18,000 today. I have the privilege of choosing 7 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,960 what we study through today and we are finishing up in 8 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:22,880 Ephesians. We'll we will have at least one 9 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,640 more lesson after this. So there'll be there'll be 3 10 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:30,480 parts in Ephesians 6, but we're covering the section after 11 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,280 obviously what we covered last time, if you weren't here. 12 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,400 We talked about children obeying parents and honoring our fathers 13 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,640 and mothers. Today we're getting into what it 14 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,960 means to be a Christian worker. So we're only going to cover 15 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,760 about 5 verses or so. You can have your bibles in 16 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:48,520 front of you. We will be working through those 17 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,960 verses and elaborating on those, but that's the plan for today. 18 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:54,760 It is a great day and I'm happy to be here. 19 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,440 So far the PowerPoint hasn't given up on me. 20 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,720 The the laptop is not restarting so it's a better than last time 21 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,280 already. So just a quick reminder, this 22 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,480 letter split into two sections. First section was reminding 23 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,960 Christians of their spiritual blessings in Christ and that 24 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:14,800 should motivate us knowing where we stand, knowing we have 25 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:16,800 heavenly riches and heavenly places. 26 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:21,040 Seated with the Father. That should motivate us to Part 27 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,840 2, which is where we are right now, exhorting Christians to 28 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,520 have a walk that is worthy of the calling that you've been 29 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:29,520 called by. We need to stand up. 30 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,280 We need to act when we hear these wonderful blessings that 31 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,400 we are privileged to. I'm not going to review the 32 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,440 outline because we've done that probably 12 times at this point. 33 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:44,080 But we are now getting into that call to walk in victory and that 34 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,360 call to walk in purity. So let's just get some running. 35 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,080 Start from where we were last time we read. 36 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,960 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 37 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,280 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment 38 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,640 with promise. What is the promise? 39 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,560 That it will be well with you, and you may live long on the 40 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,320 earth. And you fathers, do not provoke 41 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,280 your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training 42 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,560 and the admonition of the Lord. So, so far we've introduced 43 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,960 God's systems of authority. God has an interest in keeping 44 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:21,000 things in a system of of respect and reverence in the proper 45 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,840 place while we're while we're here on earth, and these 46 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,280 relationships should ultimately teach us the dynamics that it 47 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,320 should exist with us. With God, we learn reverence as 48 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,080 a child for parents and to honor and respect them so that we know 49 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,080 how to Revere God later, so that it becomes more naturally when 50 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,520 we cry out to a loving father and how we respond to him in in 51 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,760 obedience. But then it also reminds us that 52 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,800 we are all humans, that we are not the Supreme, that even 53 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,080 Fathers, the authority structures that exist and that 54 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,800 God ordained, still have a responsibility to to take care 55 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,320 and their responsibility to wield their power or their 56 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,960 authority in a way that would honor God and build up the 57 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,840 people who they are responsible for. 58 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,800 And this is the same tenor that carries into this section on 59 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,560 bondservants. So He's he doesn't take a lot of 60 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:19,720 time to say these things, but there's a lot that we said last 61 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:21,280 time. There's a lot that could be said 62 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:26,040 to kind of unpack these concepts, what it means to honor 63 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,920 a father and mother, what it means to be a good worker. 64 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,760 And we're going to try to do that today with bondservants. 65 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,560 So the first thing that often come comes up when we look at 66 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:40,840 bondservants is, wait, servants. You know that that that's a whoa 67 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,840 hold up kind of subject and I want to kind of get this off the 68 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,040 table. Yes, they're probably worth 69 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,880 systems of servitude then that were unethical, immoral, and 70 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,560 should have and did get done away with in time. 71 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,920 But that does not take away from the fact that this is still 72 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,320 applies to us today. And I'm going to explain why in 73 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,280 just a second. But the reason that doesn't 74 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,680 matter is we have to remember who these letters were written 75 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,240 to. These letters weren't written to 76 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:10,920 governments. These what letters weren't 77 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,840 written to politicians and lawmakers. 78 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,000 These weren't social change documents. 79 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:20,760 These were written to poor old Christians who were just trying 80 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,480 to survive and spread the gospel in their local area, in their 81 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,040 local church. So it makes sense why God 82 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,600 wouldn't be trying to write up some manifesto of a Christian 83 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,680 takeover, because that's not the plan. 84 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,680 The plan is you in your circle doing your work to honor and 85 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:39,720 glorify God and teach others about him. 86 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,240 In your circle. The purpose is not to create 87 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,560 heaven on earth, because ultimately it wouldn't work. 88 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,360 God tried that in the old law. He tried not to make heaven on 89 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,400 earth, but he had a system that was to be respected and honored 90 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:54,800 and the people turned away from it. 91 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:56,640 So God kind of tried that already. 92 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,200 So yes, there were servitude systems that were immoral. 93 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,240 But. This is just labor management. 94 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,080 We're covering labor Management Today, whether it's from the 95 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:09,080 workers perspective. We're also going to talk about, 96 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,800 from the boss's perspective, how to respond to an authority 97 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,080 structure that you're placed in and I believe this could apply 98 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:17,320 for. Kids at school, too. 99 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,560 There might not be hey kids in your first grade classroom, but 100 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,840 that's authority. That's respecting and working 101 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:28,240 for someone who is placed over you, who has a responsibility 102 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,200 over you, to direct you and to teach you and lead you, I think 103 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:33,760 that. Absolutely applies here. 104 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,520 OK, so yes, it applies to the construction worker. 105 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,240 It applies to the stalker in a grocery store. 106 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,560 Now we as Christians are called to be different than the rest of 107 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,680 the world. We're told in Romans 12 to not 108 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,360 be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the 109 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:58,360 renewing of your mind. Work has a way of physically 110 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,240 exhausting us as a way of mentally exhausting us, maybe 111 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,880 emotionally exhausting us. Some people in this audience 112 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,920 work with people for a living who are struggling or or dealing 113 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:09,040 with things that are challenging. 114 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,960 You're exhausted by the end of your day in one way or another 115 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:17,040 by the sweat of your brow. That's why work leads us to a 116 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,600 place where it's easy to be conformed because we're weakened 117 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,160 sometimes in the state of exhaustion. 118 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:26,880 And that's why it's especially important to fight this. 119 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:29,320 It's kind of like a gravity. It's like we're sitting on a 120 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,160 slope and gravity wants to pull us down to a standard of 121 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,640 conformity. And he said don't let that 122 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,880 happen. Be transformed to be changed in 123 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:44,240 form by renewed minds. So we need to know that this is 124 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,360 absolutely applies to our work life. 125 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,240 You know, sometimes people talk about I here's my secular work, 126 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,360 but here's my spiritual work and I get what you're saying. 127 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,600 I get what we're saying when we say that, you know, we're we're 128 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,200 dipping up our responsibility for the Lord for work. 129 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,840 But really it should all be one thing. 130 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,040 We shouldn't have anything we do that is not for the Lord as 131 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:06,960 we'll learn later. So this governs everything we 132 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,040 do, especially our work. I was in an all staff. 133 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:12,160 Day. The other day we had an in 134 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:14,200 service day. Where all the staff goes 135 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:18,000 together in the cafeteria and we have meetings now. 136 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,640 It's not a great thing. People are not happy to be there 137 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,600 because it's more meetings, it's more policy review. 138 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:28,640 It's more, you know, you know how it goes. 139 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,320 It's meetings, it's it's things you should be doing. 140 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:35,320 It's it's the repetitive droning on and on sometimes and it's 141 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:36,640 easy to leave a meeting like that. 142 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,600 When I was preparing this lesson, it's so easy for people 143 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,960 to just always talk about the negative lying about what we're 144 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:45,880 doing today. Why about go to lunch break, 145 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:47,280 man? When's this going to be over? 146 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,200 That pressure to be negative is the 1st and easiest thing to do, 147 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,760 but we have to avoid that that pressure. 1st Corinthians 10, 148 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,640 verse 31 says whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it 149 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:06,600 all for the glory of God. So as we talk about work today, 150 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,000 he's talking about some very. Simple things here, eating and 151 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,440 drinking. But remember, work takes up the 152 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,480 majority of your life if you work I. 153 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:18,280 Think I had some. Numbers here. 154 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:23,320 If you work for let's say 40-50 hours a week, you might have 40 155 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,000 hour work week, but most people work at least 50 hours. 156 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:30,040 You work that for every year. That's 2500 hours. 157 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:32,080 You're talking in a lifetime you're going to rack up like 158 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:38,240 120,000 hours doing something. If that time is only secular and 159 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,600 that is not going to the glory of God, what a waste. 160 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,600 At that time is not being used to win somebody else. 161 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,000 What a waste. May we do what we do for the 162 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,480 glory of God. OK, let's get into these verses 163 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,200 now. He says, Bond servants, be 164 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,160 obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh 165 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,840 with fear and trembling. So First off, it wouldn't be a 166 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,800 command if it wasn't sometimes difficult. 167 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,280 He doesn't have to command us a lot of things in this life that 168 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,440 are easy. He has to command things that we 169 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:09,920 might go against. So Bond servants be obedient. 170 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,960 That's the simple command. We are to obey and to follow the 171 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:16,720 the orders of those who are above us. 172 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,520 Pretty simple to those who are your masters, according to the 173 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,200 flesh. There are other passages that 174 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,080 talk about our responsibilities through spiritual leadership, 175 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:30,040 spiritual government in the church, the elders, deacons, 176 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,720 maybe, but he's not talking about that here. 177 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:35,640 He makes sure he's clarifying according to the flesh. 178 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:41,080 These are people who, at work would lead us in our jobs now, 179 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,880 he says with fear and trembling. This is a phrase used in the 180 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:46,360 Bible. You might read this and go, 181 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,360 wait, what this is. This is kind of a common 182 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:52,400 biblical phrase to refer to reverence in the Bible. 183 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:55,560 It's not a faked thing. It's not, It's not eye service 184 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:57,240 as whether they're going to later going to see. 185 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:01,400 It's a deep reverence and respect for someone that you 186 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,960 would in a sense have fear and trembling. 187 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:08,720 Not faked. As we have an attitude toward 188 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,400 our bosses now, the first thing you might say is, does that this 189 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,320 have anything to do with whether they are a deserving boss or 190 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:17,480 not. You're going to find he doesn't 191 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:21,040 say anything about that here. Doesn't say anything about 192 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:25,600 whether your boss is a good boss, an evil boss, a Christian 193 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:26,840 boss. It will. 194 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:28,840 There's another places where it talks about having a Christian 195 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,040 boss and it's a good thing, but he's not saying anything about 196 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:36,680 that here. The sad thing is, our society 197 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:45,080 gets respect and it gets showing respect and feeling respect. 198 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:48,440 Confused. I might not feel respect for 199 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,160 someone who's not a good boss of mine. 200 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,480 I've had bosses in the past who I I didn't feel a lot of respect 201 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,720 for. But showing respect and having a 202 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:01,320 respect for them that is comes from God is a totally different 203 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,480 perspective. It's a totally dead for 204 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,880 inclination to talk to them and listen to them and talk about 205 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:11,160 them when we're on our own time. So it doesn't have anything to 206 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,960 do with with their end of. This. 207 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:17,760 I was talking to a student pulled to the side the other day 208 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,160 because he was, he was kind of getting in a in a disrespectful 209 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,240 way toward one of my aides and and I was having a conversation. 210 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,280 I was like, dude, what? What good is this doing you? 211 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,240 And he's like, it's good. I was like, who's this helping? 212 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,280 He's like, it's helping me. I was like how? 213 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:34,880 You're you're calling, you know, you're being disrespectful 214 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:36,600 toward her. You're you're kind of showing 215 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:38,760 her up, but who's this doing good? 216 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:40,760 For and at. First he was like, no, it's me, 217 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:41,920 man. I got to be my own person. 218 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,240 I got to do my own thing. That's kind of a common 219 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,520 attitude. But pretty soon we were talking 220 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,240 about it's like he he got it to where he said he. 221 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,280 It's not helping anybody. And he softened to realize that 222 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:58,000 this just Why? Why would I show disrespect? 223 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,360 Who does it help? Even if the person is being 224 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,400 ridiculous or rude, our honour is intact. 225 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,000 Even if someone belittles us is disrespectful to us as their 226 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:15,440 employee or their superior. Whatever it is, our admiration 227 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:17,560 is irrelevant to this conversation. 228 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:22,080 But our respect we show toward them and we show talking about 229 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,280 them is important. He says doing this with fear and 230 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:31,760 trembling have an an attitude of honor and respect and sincerity 231 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:36,520 of heart as to Christ. So we need a mental edge to get 232 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,240 over some bad bosses, right? You need something that really 233 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:43,360 sets you off and gets you that edge that you need to overcome a 234 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:47,280 really hard emotion, which is anger towards someone who's rude 235 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,960 to you. And that edge you need is to 236 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,360 look at Christ. That edge I need to persevere 237 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,360 and give it. Everything I got is not because 238 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:00,560 I'm trying to just make their life so great, but because I am 239 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:02,880 a servant of Christ, and that's my perspective. 240 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,280 That's the edge we are to to approach this with. 241 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:11,120 The NIV says in singleness of heart as to Christ. 242 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:15,200 So sincerity of in sincerity of heart or in singleness of heart 243 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:19,920 as to Christ. So does this mean if you have a 244 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,720 terrible boss? You should just I'm just. 245 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:24,800 I want to make your life so enjoyable and that should be 246 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,880 your daily motivation. That's not the point here, but 247 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,600 what can we take away from this singleness of heart? 248 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,600 Frustrations are going to build on the job for both sides. 249 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:40,720 Your boss or my boss has their own stresses that's causing them 250 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:43,560 to respond in certain ways. And yet me and my 251 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:46,680 responsibilities on my job. Whether you're a a peon or 252 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:49,160 somewhere in the middle or high up, you have stresses in your 253 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:54,520 job. Frustration will build, but 254 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:58,440 having a singleness of mind tells us that we need to keep 255 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,880 our focus in a certain spot. What is that spot? 256 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,800 Well, number one, it's not revenge if a boss belittle as 257 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:07,320 you may be in front of other people. 258 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:09,080 Or treat you poorly. It can be. 259 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,920 It can be reasonable by the world's. 260 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,560 Standards and by what we might want to do to get revenge on 261 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:18,280 them somehow. To try to show them up, or to 262 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,320 try to just have an inclination about if I could, I'm going to 263 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,640 get back at them in some way. Maybe it's a small way, maybe 264 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:27,800 that's extreme. But revenge is is something that 265 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,200 we should not have in our singleness of heart, our 266 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,960 singular focus. This may be a more massively 267 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:35,120 common one. Gossip. 268 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,760 Like I said the other day, people walk away from those 269 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,080 meetings and they always have something to say about the boss. 270 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:46,120 Who does that do good for? Absolutely no one. 271 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,400 Gossip is something that would take take us away from a single 272 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,720 focus of getting glory to God and being good to others. 273 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:58,520 Or maybe it's to make self look good. 274 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,680 Maybe you go to work. Or maybe I go to work trying to 275 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,720 glorify myself, or to make people think man he's good at 276 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,520 his job. Or to make them think something 277 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,480 of me. That is not to be our focus. 278 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,720 Our focus should be to bring glory to God and to serve as we 279 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:19,360 were serving to Christ himself. And really that's based on 280 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,360 insecurity, right? Whether you feel belittled and 281 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,800 so you're trying to build back your own self esteem or you're 282 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,480 trying to look good because you feel like you're not quite 283 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,240 meeting it, those are selfish intentions at the end of the 284 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:43,640 day, Verse 6. 285 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,560 Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as bond servants 286 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,000 of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. 287 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,280 The NIV says to obey them not only to win their favor when 288 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,440 their eye is on you. I like, I like the way it 289 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:03,240 phrases that. How common is that for us to or 290 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,520 maybe you have. I have definitely my life and my 291 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,480 work life when the boss comes around and then on the job site 292 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,400 people would have like a whistle they did when the boss was 293 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:13,680 coming around and people just step to it, man. 294 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,960 And there's nothing wrong with that as long as once they leave, 295 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,840 you go back to continuing to work hard if they. 296 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:22,120 Leave. And you go back to kind of 297 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,960 moseying around like you were. We get, we get distracted, we 298 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:30,120 get a feeling lazy sometimes, but we should not just kind of 299 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,880 pep up when the boss is there and then kind of go back to what 300 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:34,480 we were doing when the boss. Leaves. 301 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,920 We have to try to maintain that level of intensity or focus or 302 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,680 whatever it is at work that we would do if we knew they were 303 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:43,320 always watching us with the camera. 304 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:46,640 Because the real boss is always watching. 305 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,400 The reality is God is the one who sees all. 306 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:52,760 God cares about how we. Work. 307 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,280 God cares about how we are giving them glory. 308 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,080 If we just are working hard when the boss is there, that shows we 309 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,160 care about the consequences, not the character it shows. 310 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,760 We are worried about how it might affect us instead of how 311 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,720 we could bring glory to God in all circumstances, whether 312 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:16,319 they're looking or not. I'm amazed God has the perfect 313 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:20,800 wisdom because this is such a common area that we see it's, 314 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,680 it's, it's, it's such a common negative thing that happens in 315 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:28,119 the workplace that people would be focused for a time and be off 316 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:29,640 task. If you've ever. 317 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,880 Managed somebody. You know how frustrating that is 318 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,360 because not only is it bad that they're not great workers, you 319 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:38,120 really don't know who's the good worker because they're all 320 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:39,560 putting a face on when you're there. 321 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:45,320 God has amazing wisdom to know what we need guidance on and 322 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,640 redirection. And ultimately. 323 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,800 If we're not doing the will of God from the heart, who who is 324 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,800 it bad for? It's bad for us, ultimately, 325 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:01,320 because we go about our day feeling meaningless and and and 326 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,080 you don't have a lot of purpose and you're lazy because of that. 327 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:09,040 We are not made to be our own masters, our own servants. 328 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,400 It doesn't work well. Our minds don't work well like 329 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:12,600 that. But not to mention. 330 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,600 Everybody else around us is worse off with this mentality. 331 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:20,360 Verse seven with goodwill. Doing service. 332 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:22,880 OK, he's going to finish this verse off with a with important 333 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,000 piece of information, but he says goodwill. 334 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:34,240 A good person, a good Christian, has the best interest of others 335 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,000 in every situation they can. Find It's hard to do that, but 336 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,040 that's. The goal, right? 337 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:41,920 Jesus said. I did not come to be served. 338 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,080 But to serve. This is our purpose here on 339 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,080 earth that we would serve others and we have a chance to do that 340 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,040 every day we go to work. So if we have the right 341 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:55,440 attitude, that goodwill and we do it with service, this is the 342 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,400 standard and it's achievable. Every single day you go to work. 343 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,280 Now let's think about goodwill, doing service. 344 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,840 Every job has a list of people that you might call their 345 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:07,960 stakeholders or their constituents, whatever you might 346 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,120 say who have. An interest in the work you're 347 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:12,440 doing. For me, as an example, as a 348 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:14,160 teacher, they're very clear. They study this out. 349 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,320 They make it all. They have their triangles, their 350 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,080 graphs and everything I have. My stakeholders are the 351 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,200 community because I'm trying to build a community member that is 352 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,360 going to be productive and healthy and etcetera. 353 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,440 I'm serving my principal. My boss is my principal. 354 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,160 Ultimately, like we could say, bond servants. 355 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:33,200 That's my boss, my principal, or my. 356 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:37,520 Assistant principal. The two of them, I serve them 357 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:41,400 because their job is to get the school functioning well. 358 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,080 If I support their efforts, they're going to be better off. 359 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,200 And if I can have a mentality that I'm going to make my my 360 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:53,040 boss's life better off, then I'm going to give them a a person 361 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,680 working in their system that's going to do a good job, to make 362 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,400 their job easier and feel like it's working. 363 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,480 Because they get frustrated, they get tired, they get 364 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:04,920 whatever. And if I can give them someone 365 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,480 who, like you know, I got them on my side to help me, that's 366 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,600 going to be good. I think that brings honour to 367 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,280 God because they're just trying to do their job too. 368 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:17,680 So I serve the community I serve the my principal and the the the 369 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:22,160 assistant principals I. Serve the department chair who's 370 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,160 trying to make their department function well. 371 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:26,280 They don't want to have to manage a bunch of issues and 372 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,200 problems, they just want you to do your job well. 373 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,240 But maybe more importantly. I serve the families of the 374 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,240 people I work for. I serve the kids. 375 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,960 They might not care or want it, but I'm there to serve them. 376 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:42,960 So if I try to keep this mentality, I want to do good for 377 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,240 these people. I want to do a good job for 378 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,240 these kids. I want to do a good job for 379 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:50,440 their parents who've trusted me with their time and my bosses 380 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,440 who are trying to run a system that's difficult and full of a 381 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:57,160 lot of people's opinions. If I keep a goodwill mentality, 382 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:58,960 I will serve. Every one of them better. 383 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,400 Doing service is our job here on earth. 384 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,480 You could take any job and make a list like that, You might 385 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:08,840 think. Yeah, well, nobody cares about 386 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:10,880 my job. I could say the same thing with 387 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:12,800 my job. Trust me, I walk into work every 388 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,080 day. The principal's not there. 389 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,960 This system of principals have nothing to do with my room. 390 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,320 I they sometimes say the king of your castle. 391 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:22,280 I have. I don't see them hardly at all. 392 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:24,240 So I can say who. They don't even. 393 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:25,120 Care. They're not here. 394 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:26,960 The kids, they rolled in half asleep. 395 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,400 They don't want to do anything. They could care less. 396 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,680 Whether I do anything or or spend an hour prepping this this 397 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,600 this morning early, or grading it, they don't care. 398 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:38,640 I could say the community isn't involved, they just want to 399 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:40,960 throw rocks from afar and just make criticism. 400 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,120 They don't, really. Care their parents. 401 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:44,840 They're they're not even coming to back to school now. 402 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,920 I have 55 kids. Parents come. 403 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:51,400 I can make all these reasons why my job has no meaning. 404 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,800 Or I could have goodwill toward everyone I'm supposed to serve. 405 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,960 You could take a Carpenter. A Carpenter is serving the 406 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:01,480 people he's building that building for. 407 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,120 Those people are paying money and trusting they're going to 408 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:08,400 get a quality structure without the corners cut, without making 409 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,160 kind of janky fixes here and there. 410 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:12,920 They want to know they're buying a quality product for the market 411 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,880 value they're getting. And if we cut corners, if we 412 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,640 short things out and give them a, you know, something they're 413 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,080 going to uncover later and go. Oh, who built this? 414 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:27,200 Is that doing goodwill service? Is that doing going to make them 415 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,600 glorify God if someone sees good things the way God designed it 416 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,320 to be done? In a good system and good 417 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:39,400 effort, everybody's better. That Carpenter can see their 418 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:40,880 foreman. Their foreman is just trying to 419 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,640 keep people together and keep the job site running smoothly. 420 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,040 The Superintendent is trying to not make it go over budget and 421 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,200 past time. These people have their own 422 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,960 stresses, their own worries. If they look at everybody, they 423 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,920 can serve. Everybody will be better off. 424 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:57,840 That's our job. You could take it to the. 425 00:22:57,840 --> 00:22:59,360 Stalker. I don't. 426 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:00,680 I don't want to go through a whole nother list. 427 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,120 The stalker has his own people, they might seem like. 428 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:04,440 Well, it's. Just it's just this. 429 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,440 But we all have purpose, and when the small functions in a 430 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,800 bigger system don't go well, people notice it. 431 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,360 When aisles are thrown all over the place, you notice it. 432 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,080 And there your shift manager notices it because your shift 433 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:21,680 manager had people. Before you who weren't. 434 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,320 Doing their job and so they're stressed out and they're running 435 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:25,960 behind and customers are frustrated. 436 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:28,680 You can make everybody's life better by doing your job well. 437 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:30,400 And I think this is a Christian concept. 438 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,960 I don't think it is secular alone because we can bring glory 439 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,920 to God. And whatever we do, OK, we get 440 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,720 the idea. And first Peter, it says that we 441 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,240 without a word could win. You know, it's talking about the 442 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:48,640 wives trying to convert their unbelieving husbands. 443 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,840 He says that they, without a word, could win them with their 444 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,000 action. I think that applies to our 445 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,240 work, that we have a chance to influence people by showing them 446 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,920 somebody who is diligent. In many ways we're going to talk 447 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,520 about in a minute, that we, without a word, could influence 448 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:09,400 them. OK, the second very important 449 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,600 part of this verse, he says with goodwill, doing service. 450 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,240 At the end of the day, it's not about the people around you who 451 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,960 are the most important. At the end of the day, it is 452 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,320 about serving the Lord and not men. 453 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:24,880 So don't let. Don't get discouraged that your 454 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,280 work is valueless. Yes, you want to do good for 455 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:29,760 people, but that's not the great goal. 456 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,560 That's not the higher calling. Higher calling is to serve the 457 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:38,960 Lord in all areas of life. Verse 8 Knowing that whatever 458 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:45,600 good anyone does, whatever good anyone does, he will receive the 459 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,600 same from the Lord whether he is a slave or free. 460 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:53,840 Your work may not earn you a lot of. 461 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,760 Money. A slave might not have gotten 462 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:04,560 much at all, or maybe anything, but their pay is real good 463 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,280 because the Lord is going to give. 464 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,240 The Lord is going to return the work we do. 465 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,840 If the things we've said aren't enough for you already, the fact 466 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,960 that it's going to come back to you maybe a little selfishly, 467 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:20,640 but. I mean that's that's God's, 468 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,280 that's the glory of God's plan. It it is good for everyone and 469 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,560 it's good for us. When we do his will, it's going 470 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,880 to come back to us in some way. I believe that's maybe an 471 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,280 eternal thing. That we're going to get 472 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:33,800 everything you could ever possibly imagine giving your 473 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:35,760 effort to. You're going to get. 474 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,200 You're going to get paid for it. Eternity is beyond what we could 475 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,600 ever purchase or earn for ourselves. 476 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,440 God's blessings in eternity are going to be worth it all. 477 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,480 The Lord. We'll give back to the one for 478 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:53,920 every good thing he does. That's insane. 479 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:57,520 Those little things that nobody else is watching. 480 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:02,320 God sees it, and God's going to reward it if that doesn't fire 481 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:06,280 you up. People talk about the grind 482 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:07,680 like, I'm doing all this for what? 483 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,600 To fill up my boss's pockets. I get paid too. 484 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,720 I work too hard where you get paid too little. 485 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:16,640 And for what? If you're a Christian, that's 486 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,960 for what? A quality worker? 487 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,960 OK, So what are some attributes of a quality worker? 488 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,680 I just put together a couple real quick thinking about things 489 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,240 I've talked to different bosses about, or people I knew ran 490 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,360 other employees. What are some things that makes 491 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:35,000 up a quality worker? Or maybe key areas that make a 492 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,800 bad work? The first area I chose to bring 493 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:43,920 up is initiative. So how can I be a quality worker 494 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:45,880 in the area of showing initiative? 495 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,480 And this is a great rule of thumb that I've heard one time 496 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:50,840 that I've tried to carry with me. 497 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,360 And it applies to the work at the church, it applies to work 498 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:57,680 for a for employer, whatever you might say. 499 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,920 First, an average worker. I didn't say a bad worker. 500 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,720 I said average because the average is not necessarily good. 501 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:05,400 As we're going to find out throughout this process. 502 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,680 A normal or average person does what they do, what they're told 503 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,400 to do, when they're told to do it. 504 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,520 That's average, right? That's the bare minimum. 505 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,680 That you do what you're told. And we are commanded that here 506 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,840 to obey. But what does a good worker do? 507 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:24,520 A good worker asks. What can be done? 508 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:27,400 They might show initiative and step out of the way and say, hey 509 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,880 man, what can I do here? I'd like to help and, you know, 510 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,320 take on some more work here, or I'm finished with my other task. 511 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,640 What can I do here to help? That they will be seeking an 512 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,840 opportunity to do better. But a great worker and I might 513 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,640 change this to a Christian worker. 514 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:44,960 The goal is to be someone who does without asking. 515 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:49,280 If someone is managing other people and they have to 516 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:51,720 constantly tell someone every little thing that has to be 517 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:53,600 done, they get tired of it. They get frustrated. 518 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,440 It's more work for them. But if you can be someone who 519 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:00,320 learns, how can I? How I can just step on to the 520 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:01,920 next thing without even having to be told what? 521 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,680 To be done, and I know that takes time. 522 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,920 That's not always easy because you have to learn sequences, you 523 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,320 have to learn quality levels, you have to learn when you 524 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:11,880 should be done. So I'm not saying. 525 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:14,840 This is start day one. You should be able to do this, 526 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,440 but that's what we should. Be working toward and showing 527 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:21,040 initiative and. Especially at church, if we 528 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,840 would give this kind of effort for our bosses, why wouldn't we 529 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,000 give the Lord this kind of effort? 530 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:29,600 Are we doing what we should be told? 531 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:31,960 The issues in the church? You don't always have someone 532 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:33,360 who's just going to tell you what to do. 533 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:38,440 Are you asking what you can do? And by the way, it's not always 534 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,240 easy because we don't have all the answers. 535 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,000 But are you someone who's looking? 536 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,760 For what can be done here, that's the key. 537 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:52,440 I know I don't have the answers. I'm doing my best to figure out 538 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,320 what I can do. And I'm not saying I'm here, 539 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,920 that's not what I'm getting at. I'm saying I don't have the 540 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,280 answers to to tell other people what should be done. 541 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,800 But can we do without asking that? 542 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,640 I would step in for a need. Do I do that and show 543 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,480 initiative? OK, area #2. 544 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:15,520 Attitude towards challenges. Because work by nature is going 545 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,840 to have challenges. An average worker gets 546 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,320 instructions and does it through complaints. 547 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:23,960 It's like we've talked about already. 548 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,440 They'll do it, but they're going to complain about it. 549 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,800 Maybe to the boss or to the person they're working 550 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:30,480 alongside. They're going to complain about 551 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,200 it. But Philippians 2, verse 14 says 552 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,320 to do all things without complaining and disputing that 553 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,920 you may become blameless and harmless children of God. 554 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,400 Have you ever connected? Complaining to being a child of 555 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,680 God seems like a pretty big deal. 556 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,640 Now we're kind of spitting out aimless complaints. 557 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,000 I could show my identity in God by not complaining, but instead 558 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,320 taking on tasks with a positive attitude and a commitment to the 559 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:07,280 goals of the boss. If if I can or if you can, try 560 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:08,040 to. Figure out what your. 561 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:11,640 Boss's goals are if you could just keep this mindset like I'm 562 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,320 just doing this little isolated task right here and don't take 563 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:16,640 into account the bigger picture when he's trying to get done, 564 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,920 you won't be quite as helpful. But if I take on this 565 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:21,760 challenging task saying, you know what, I'm going to grind 566 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,120 through this because this is what we're trying to get done as 567 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,800 a whole and I'm just going to function, do my best as a part 568 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:31,040 of that system. Our bosses will will respect 569 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,160 that and appreciate that. And to do with the positive 570 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,520 attitude, because you got to do it anyway, right? 571 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:42,600 There's certain things you have to do anyway, and a negative 572 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,520 attitude only makes it worse. There's AI think it's a proverb. 573 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,840 I'm not going to remember it word for word, but if you know 574 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:50,600 the proverb, you know where I was going with that A. 575 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:54,520 A good attitude can can bring life to a situation. 576 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,480 OK, what about professional development? 577 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,400 So we've talked about challenging tasks now. 578 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,080 What about developing yourself as a professional as a? 579 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,640 Worker The average person says I get paid you the same for eight 580 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,880 hours as you, so why would I do any more than that? 581 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,160 Why would I care? A great worker or a Christian 582 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:18,280 worker should seek ways to be better at their job, knowing 583 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:20,760 self and the boss's explanations. 584 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,440 OK again, not to be better than somebody else, that's not what 585 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,320 I'm saying here, but to better them self. 586 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:27,760 How can I be a more effective worker? 587 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:33,320 How can I be more efficient or more productive for you, or more 588 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,040 effective in my job? And this is key I think, right 589 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:40,800 here. Knowing self, you have to think 590 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:42,640 about and know who you are as a worker. 591 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:48,160 Some people need to be told to do a more precise job or to take 592 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,240 more care with their work. As Frank will tell you after 593 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:52,960 work with me, that is not what I need. 594 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:56,120 I do not be need to be told to do a more precise job because I 595 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,120 will take too long doing a job that. 596 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,560 Needs to just be moved on from. I can be perfectionist in the 597 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,240 details and that's not going to make him money. 598 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:07,840 If I'm taking too long to do a job that it's good enough how it 599 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:09,280 is, it's great. Just move on. 600 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,200 So you have to know yourself. You have to know what you need 601 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:14,920 to work on, maybe with your personality, maybe in your 602 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,520 specific job and ways that you can be better. 603 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,720 Don't be afraid to ask the boss or a Co worker around you ways 604 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:27,480 you can be better and know the boss's expectations. 605 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:31,640 Integrity. We're getting toward the end of 606 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,240 our list here. Integrity. 607 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,320 What about this as it applies to us being good workers? 608 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:40,400 First of all, timeliness. Maybe not. 609 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,440 In every culture, timeliness is a massive issue in some places. 610 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:47,640 Maybe showing up late is just like that's just what everybody 611 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:49,400 does and and everybody was OK with that. 612 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:51,120 I don't know about other cultures. 613 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:56,160 I know about here in the US and I know in the US it is a way to 614 00:32:56,160 --> 00:33:01,720 communicate respect and value for the person you're serving 615 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:03,480 and the person you're doing the job for. 616 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:08,160 It is a way to communicate respect and honor and we should 617 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,160 be on time. I was told if you're not 10 618 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:11,600 minutes early, you're 5 minutes late. 619 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:20,880 I think those apply Well, what about theft as it deals with 620 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:26,040 integrity? I read these statistics and I 621 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,600 shared some of them recently with you guys in another lesson. 622 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:33,960 But I read a statistic that said 90% of all significant theft 623 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:38,800 losses come from employees. Significant theft losses will be 624 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,080 beyond just like the little small things that don't really 625 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,200 amount to much. That's scary. 626 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,720 That's the average. But I think maybe the more 627 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:51,840 common, the more common issue for most people because of some 628 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:53,880 of these statistics is time theft. 629 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:56,000 We've talked about this before, but I'm going to keep 630 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,800 reiterating it because it's something we have to be very 631 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,920 careful of. It's easy to slip into this 632 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,720 studied, I think it was the Bureau of Labour and Statistics 633 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:08,320 or something said 4 1/2 labours of time, theft per employee per 634 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,960 week. That's a lot of money being 635 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:12,760 thrown away. If you were to walk up to your 636 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:18,159 boss and steal, let's say minimum wage, that's like 90 637 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:22,280 bucks every week walking up to your boss and stealing 90 bucks 638 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,639 out of his pocket. You never do that, right? 639 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:31,440 But would we steal their time by not being productive on the job, 640 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:34,880 or being on our phones or just slacking off, whatever the case 641 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,159 may be, that's scary. That's a lot of time and money. 642 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:43,239 One in four people admit to lying on their time cards, and 643 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,679 in the US this was in 2021 or two. 644 00:34:45,679 --> 00:34:49,280 I looked at this statistic. There was $400 billion 645 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,239 businesses lost in the US from time theft alone. 646 00:34:54,120 --> 00:35:00,600 Average with theft or time management Average is steal from 647 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:02,320 your boss. Everybody else does it. 648 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:03,800 They're sitting over there on your phone. 649 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,360 Why won't you? That's not what we're called. 650 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,960 The bee. I don't know if I put the the 651 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,720 great, but the great would be obviously being productive on 652 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:16,080 time doing your work. It's kind of the opposite of all 653 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:19,560 those things. Colossians 3 verse 23 says and 654 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:22,320 whatever. You do do it heartily. 655 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:27,200 The whole summation of this is you don't work just for your 656 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,480 boss. You work for the Lord at your 657 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:33,920 job, and we're going to spend 120,000 hours in our life 658 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,680 working. Why not take advantage of it and 659 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,280 use it heartily and to do our best? 660 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,480 And as I was thinking about this, our own work ethic and 661 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:47,160 what we're willing to do is so limited by our mind. 662 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,080 It's so limited by what we think we can do. 663 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,480 If you, as you think about these different great feats that 664 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,600 humans have accomplished, I don't say this to glorify 665 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,520 humans. I say this to glorify God and 666 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:03,080 that he has made us incredibly resilient, changeable, moldable. 667 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,880 You can change any part of yourself almost your your 668 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:11,200 physical endurance, your strength, your focus, your your 669 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:13,200 mental skills, your physical skills. 670 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:14,920 You can change almost anything about you. 671 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:18,280 That's a God giving gift to better yourself. 672 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:22,600 For the glory of God, people climb the tallest mountains in 673 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:27,600 the world all the time. They could have just said I 674 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:31,240 don't feel like it and a lot of people do, but it just shows 675 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:33,960 what we can accomplish if we'll take the time I follow this guy, 676 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:35,760 his name. 'S true Haynes. 677 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:40,200 He just he just broke the world pull up record and most of the 678 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,200 guys who are the pull up world record holders are real scrawny 679 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:45,280 skinny guys. So it was an amazing thing that 680 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:46,680 did this. He's a bigger guy. 681 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,840 He did 8100 pull ups in the day. It's an incredible feat. 682 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,960 What are we willing to work for? I'm not saying go out and do a 683 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,600 billion pull ups. I'm saying do you realize, do I 684 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:03,480 realize that I have so few limitations that God gave me? 685 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:07,320 I have so much potential that I have to grow and do. 686 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:10,600 That when I say. I don't really want to or can't. 687 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:17,200 That is a mentality I ran across the that that plane crash that 688 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:21,320 happened in the Andes mountains. There was these 16 people 689 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:25,840 survived 72 days and the Andes mountains in the snow with just 690 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:26,920 a plane. And we're not going to go into 691 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,080 the details of what happened there, but the thought of what 692 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:34,520 the human body is capable of and resilient through 72 days. 693 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:41,800 And we can complain about the tiny things we're capable of 694 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:44,480 more. This man, I'm not going to try 695 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:50,320 to pronounce his name, just ran a marathon in under 2 hours. 696 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:52,240 People thought it was impossible. 697 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:57,480 They thought the human body is it's incapable of it. 1900 years 698 00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:00,520 into human history, the fastest we had was 3 hours and 45 699 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,320 minutes at the IT was one of the Olympic Games. 700 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:06,920 The first marathon races ran. To think that that was an 701 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,400 incredible human feat, and now it's been like, cut in half. 702 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:13,520 It just shows what we can do when we will put our mind to. 703 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:18,880 Something we can and and have the potential to do. 704 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:21,800 Things that are beyond what we might think right now, that's a 705 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,240 God-given ability to change and grow. 706 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:28,160 So miscellaneous. This one person went 15 days 707 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,920 without food or water. Someone else spent 41 minutes 708 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:33,480 without blinking. This person spent 48 hours in 709 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:38,000 virtual reality, this 122 minutes underwater with no air. 710 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:42,200 I think this guy was under ice too, Under ice water, 86 hours 711 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:46,440 running continuously, and someone else spent 264 hours 712 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:48,440 with no sleep. That's like 11 days. 713 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:55,160 Again, the only reason I bring this up is to remember that we 714 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:59,200 have more to give. And if you don't think you have 715 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:02,960 more to give, that's probably a product of not trying, because 716 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:06,960 you don't realize how much potential you have for the glory 717 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:13,840 of God to be better workers, To not think, I can't do this, you 718 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:16,320 can. And God can be glorified in 719 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:20,120 whatever situation we're in. Just finishing up real quick. 720 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:23,400 And you masters. So he's talking about the bosses 721 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:24,520 now. He's going to give direction to 722 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:28,200 them, and it's very short. Do the same things to them. 723 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:30,560 Now. Is he saying you have to obey 724 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:31,800 them like they were told to obey? 725 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:34,360 No, It's the same perspective. It's the same. 726 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:37,880 Attitude of I'm trying to follow God and I'm trying to work for 727 00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,760 God. Bosses have their own role of 728 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:46,960 service, but they are to Revere God first and to show respect to 729 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:51,720 their employees and to have the same mentality in their work. 730 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,720 If you're a boss, do the same things to them. 731 00:40:03,090 --> 00:40:04,130 Lost my birth year. Where you go? 732 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:10,720 Knowing that whatever good anyone does, well, see I messed 733 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:14,600 up my here we go. So he says, And you masters do 734 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:16,800 the same things to them, giving up threatening. 735 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:21,480 If you were a boss, he says, don't threaten your employees. 736 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:24,880 Maybe in this day and time this would have had a more direct 737 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,960 physical harm. Maybe threatening, physical 738 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:32,640 punishment or something might have been the case, but even 739 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:35,320 today, threatening should not be used. 740 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:38,560 Consequence, though, has to happen. 741 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:40,120 So there we're going to talk about difference between 742 00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:42,640 threatening and consequence, but there's no place for 743 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:45,800 threatening. So threats versus consequences, 744 00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:50,440 what's the difference If someone is not performing in a way you 745 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:54,040 can let them know, hey, I, as the manager of this situation of 746 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,160 this company I have, I can't keep you. 747 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:58,640 If you're going to continue to do this, and they're going to, 748 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:00,640 you're going to let them know the consequence of what they of 749 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:03,680 what will happen. But there's a difference between 750 00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:06,360 letting them know and doing that, following up and say, OK, 751 00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:08,160 this is what happened, So I have to catch you loose. 752 00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:13,720 I'm sorry, that's a consequence. But threats do nobody any good. 753 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:16,560 If someone walks around giving threats, a lot of times they're 754 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:20,240 revealed as empty threats. And who does that really put 755 00:41:20,240 --> 00:41:23,280 the? Stress on that puts stress on 756 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:24,880 the. Employee on the employer. 757 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:27,920 Because if they're throwing threats around, man, now I throw 758 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:29,400 all these threats and I have to back it up. 759 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,000 If I don't, I'm kind of lying. I'm kind of being dishonest and 760 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,360 they're not going to trust me anymore because I said I was 761 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:35,320 going to do this. I'm not. 762 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:39,240 Threats don't do any good. They make people angry and 763 00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:44,160 bitter and they put stress on the manager because it's really 764 00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:48,160 on them to follow through with all these threats, he says. 765 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,840 Give up threatening, we are all here. 766 00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:52,720 To serve the best interest of others. 767 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:58,160 So giving up threatening, knowing that your own master 768 00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:01,960 also is in heaven and there is no partiality with him. 769 00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:05,680 May we keep the proper perspective on our roles of 770 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:08,880 authority to realize that we're not the top of the food chain 771 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:13,880 and it's not all about us and our goals aren't the greatest 772 00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:18,240 goals in the universe. We have a master that we need to 773 00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:22,640 handle other people in light of our relationship with our 774 00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:25,480 master. And he says there is no 775 00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:28,600 partiality with him. You're not going to be a special 776 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:31,600 treatment and God's not going to treat you specially because 777 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:34,000 you're a boss and you have had a lot of authority. 778 00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:39,920 God is our Supreme leader. Whether we're boss or whether 779 00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:43,040 we're employee. There's no partiality with him. 780 00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:45,920 May we be humble enough to see that. 781 00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:49,120 And that's we're going to close today. 782 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:51,760 We'll finish up Ephesians Chapter 6 next time. 783 00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:56,280 I hope we can give glory to God in the way we work today and 784 00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:58,080 it'll. The process all starts with 785 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:00,560 becoming a Christian. And if you haven't already done 786 00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:02,240 that, why not? It's a great life. 787 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:07,440 It's the best life you can live. If you hear the word, you have a 788 00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:10,520 chance to believe that word. When you believe the word, you 789 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:14,160 can respond to it with a change, with a repentance that says God, 790 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:16,040 I'm ready to follow your will and not my will. 791 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:17,800 I want to turn and do what you ask. 792 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,920 I'm going to fight that gravity to sin and go conformity. 793 00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:23,960 I'm going to be transformed. That's my goal moving forward. 794 00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:28,240 And you can do have that repentance in your heart, and 795 00:43:28,240 --> 00:43:31,680 you can confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that 796 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,680 there's salvation by none other, and be baptized to be added to 797 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:38,400 the church to be contacted with Jesus blood himself. 798 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:41,600 And you could be saved for the remission of your sins and you 799 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:43,720 can be added to the Church. And if you've already done that, 800 00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:47,600 and you need prayers for forgiveness, for support, you 801 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:49,920 can do those things privately. But if it's of public nature and 802 00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:52,000 you want to get it right, or if you just want the support of 803 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:54,600 everybody who's here together, we'd be happy to help you out 804 00:43:54,720 --> 00:43:56,800 one of either class while we stand and while we sit. 805 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:01,000 We thank you for listening to our podcast put on by the Church 806 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:05,440 of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in Bakersfield. 807 00:44:06,160 --> 00:44:09,600 If you would like any additional information or you would like to 808 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:12,600 receive a free Bible correspondence course by mail, 809 00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:18,640 please e-mail us at info at churchofchristbakersfield.com. 810 00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:24,600 Our service times are Sundays at 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM and 811 00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:29,040 Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. Please make plans to join us. 812 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:31,680 We would love for you to be our honored guest.