As Mark said, yes, we are, and as Christian said
earlier, we are jumping ahead as Alex and I kind
of swapped what weeks we were going to be preaching.
And so he had already been working on the passage
before mine. So we decided instead of trying
to just make that, you know. to me to take his
notes, we're just gonna confuse everybody and
flip -flop it. So I'm jumping ahead from where
we were at in Colossians, and next week Alex
will go back in time and will preach the message
that takes place before mine. So you're gonna
do some time travel next week and it's gonna
be really cool and everyone's gonna be excited.
But yes, and then also, just to clear up any
confusion, yes, I'm going through... the end
of chapter three and then the first verse in
chapter four which we always love to remind people
the words of scripture are inspired the chapter
and verse number delineations aren't inspired
people came afterwards and i definitely don't
understand why chapter four is just here oh in
the middle of our passage but here it is and
so let's talk about it here this morning i want
you to imagine one of my middle school students
at school. So apart from here, I teach middle
school Bible at Anderson Christian School in
Anderson. So I want you to imagine one of my
middle school students. Now I'm not gonna use
a real one. We'll use the name of someone here
since I don't actually teach them. Let's just
go with Rylan. I think she's in here, okay? So
we'll go with Rylan since not only is she not
actually one of my school students, but I know...
Pretty confidently that she wouldn't be like
this example. Okay, so this is not actually Ryland
just using her name Okay, so Ryland is a star
student in my Bible class. She comes prepared
every single day to class She is always in her
seat when the bell rings. She always raises her
hand when she has a question She is always respectful.
She does all of her assignments on time. She
is just the ideal students and Ashley said She's
laughing so okay. We'll take that for what it
is All right So for all for all that I know as
her teacher of that class she really seems like
an obedient good student however outside of my
class when I see her She's completely different
or at church, but you know okay. You don't have
to like keep nodding your head to that So when
I see her outside of class, she's completely
different. I ask her to help me with something
in the hallway, and she just ignores me and brushes
by and bumps my shoulder for some reason, because
that seems like something Rylan would do. After
lunch, I ask her to take out the garbage, and
she says, no, I can't tell her what to do when
she's not in my class. Now they're nodding still.
See, at first, Rylan seemed like a really good
student to me because she was really good at
obeying in that classroom, right? But I think
if anyone were to see that full picture of this
obviously fake version of Rylan, we would be
able to tell that she's obviously just faking
it in that class time. because she wants to be
a teacher's pet or whatever you want to call
it right because outside of that outside of that
one set spot and condition and situation she's
a completely different person that's how a lot
of people treat their Christian walk a lot of
people we come to church and we're really good
at being obedient on our Sundays Right? We come
to church, we go to Sunday school, we do gospel
groups, we know the right things to say, and
even when we're around our other church people,
maybe even outside of church, we're really good
at saying those things. But I don't want us to
be like this fake version of Rylan, where when
we leave here, it's like that need to obey and
that desire to be obedient to God's Word suddenly
vanishes, or at least diminishes because being
a Christian is much more than just going to church
and being obedient on Sundays. We're called as
Christians to be the light of the world every
single day. I can't just say that I'm a follower
of Jesus with my life looking like I'm just faking
it or my life looking completely different. We've
been talking about discipleship throughout this
series in Colossians. We're going to be focusing
on that a lot this year. And true discipleship,
like Paul is describing here in Colossians, goes
much deeper than one day a week. The point I
want us to focus on this morning, and this week
was a little crazy for the Masses, if anyone's
curious, so I did not get an insert for you,
but you can maybe use that blank space at the
front of your bulletins or... Find notes somewhere
if you want to write these notes down, but the
main point I want us to focus on this morning
is this true disciples are obedient in every
aspect of their lives true disciples are obedient
in every aspect of their lives and To help us
out and help us narrow this down particularly
in this passage Paul gives us three areas in
which we should obediently live out our faith
in marriage in parenting and the workplace. So
here's the question we're gonna tackle this morning.
How do we live obediently in marriage, parenting,
and the workplace? How do we actually do that?
And we're gonna see how Paul, through God's word,
lays that out for us to be obedient in those
three areas, marriage, parenting, and the workplace.
And so we'll start with the very first one of
marriage. So let's look at our passage again
starting in verse 18. It says, wives submit to
your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands,
love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
This is not a passage that a lot of people today
enjoy reading or talking about. right we can
probably understand that right there's a lot
of women out there that outside of the context
of this would not enjoy those words right um
because it seems like if you're just looking
outside the context the wives kind of get the
short end of the stick with that right but i
want to make sure we understand why that could
not be farther from the truth see during that
time historians write that wives were basically
treated as the property of their husbands Being
a wife in that time and that Roman controlled
part of the world, the wives had nothing and
the husband could do whatever he wanted with
them. The wives really had no rights outside
of their household and the wives could only do
what the husband permitted. They basically had
no freedom of their own outside of their husbands.
So Paul's command for wives to submit to their
husbands at first glance might sound troubling
to some modern readers, almost like he's playing
into that. But doing so forgets the context and
the crucial aspect of who Paul is actually talking
to when he wrote this letter, and this frames
everything that we're about to read from him.
Paul is talking specifically to Christian families.
Paul is writing to the church and Colossae, and
he's framing all of these ideas, all of these
things he's giving to Christian families, right?
And that that That delineation is very important
for us, especially considering the Christian
family is the crux of every society, or it should
be, right? Where the Christian family flourishes,
a nation will flourish. I truly believe that.
That marriage is the first institution that God
made. When He created humans, He created Adam
and Eve, and He created marriage. And for us
to treat our marriage as God intended is one
of the most important things that we can do.
as humans, and especially as followers of God.
See, as Christians, we are called to be different
than the rest of the world, so every aspect of
our lives, especially our marriages, should be
different. And this statement does assume that
the wife in mention here, in her section, is
a follower of Jesus. And in that framework, the
command for the wife to submit to her husband
is radically transformed from that negative view
that a lot of people today might think that that
means. In the same way, though, husbands were
called to be radically different than their current
culture. Instead of lording their power over
their wives, like many men would do and husbands
just did all the time in that culture, the husband
is called to love their wives and not be harsh
with them. And that goes much deeper than just
a romantic love. Yes, there should be a romantic
love for your wife, husbands, and wives for your
husbands, but it goes deeper than that because
the word that's used here is a verb version of
the word agape, which is the type of love that
God has for us. And especially used here, this
is what it means. It means for a husband to love
wish well to, take pleasure in, long for, and
esteem their wives. It's much more than just
a, oh well I love her I guess because she's pretty.
No, it's I love her because of who she is and
I want to lift her up because she is my wife.
I don't look at her as my property, I look at
her as the blessing that God gave me. and we
cherish her and we esteem her. In Ephesians,
Paul deepens this understanding saying that husbands
should love their wives as Christ loves the church
and gave himself up for her. Husbands are called
to cherish and esteem their wives and to love
them as themselves. When God created man and
wife and the institution of marriage in Genesis,
he said that a man would leave his father and
mother and joined with his wife and they would
become, who knows the words, one flesh. They
become one. And for wives, I always try to tell,
I get the question a lot, especially from teenagers
who I spend all of my time with. When they hear
these passages, a lot of teenage girls... also
struggle with that idea of wives submitting to
their husbands and I get that I understand that
but what I try to encourage them in is and this
is a challenge both for women in here anyone
especially when unmarried or Girls and for the
boys. Okay, that if a wife is truly married to
an obedient God -fearing Husband who is doing
his best to serve God and please him with his
leadership then the wife won't have a problem
submitting to that leadership. Or at least she
shouldn't, right? Obviously there's going to
be strife, we're going to butt heads, because
guess what? We're all sinful, right? Okay, there's
going to be strife there, but that's what we
are called to. But a beautiful part of marriage
is realizing that both the husband and wife in
our marriage get to be living examples of Jesus
both to each other and to the world. This is
what really makes these commands make so much
more sense to us and in fact Make them beautiful
for both the wife and the husband for what we
get to do So let's go in order that Paul said
the wife The call to submit to your husband is
not a call to be lesser than him I want to make
sure we we start with understanding that right?
In fact, the Bible says that Jesus, though He
was fully God, submitted Himself to the will
of the Father. Would we agree with that? That
that's what He did. Is Jesus any less than the
Father? No. Why? Scripture is calling you into
the beautiful role of being like Jesus through
the submission to your husband's spiritual leadership.
And then even by doing so, you will point your
husband and others to the Lord. And let me give
you a secret, okay? Most of the time, ladies,
your husband might not actually expect you to
just easily submit all the time. We might not
actually be expecting that, right? The fall in
Genesis 3 told us that there would be a power
struggle in marriage because of sin. We're not
going to be surprised or we shouldn't be surprised
about that. We knew that from the start that
the husband's desire would be to rule over his
wife and dominate the wife and the wife's desire
would be to rule over him. We know that that
struggle is going to come. And sometimes the
husband, when we are asking things or trying
to lead the family, sometimes it might actually
surprise us when our wife graciously, humbly
submits to that. So when your husband sees you
humbly submit to his spiritual leadership, he
will see you as a shining example of what a Christian
should be. And so will the world outside of your
marriage. There's a reason so many people get
their feathers ruffled by the term wives submit
to your husbands. It raises the hackles of a
lot of people because it doesn't make sense to
the world. But listen church, that's the point.
We are supposed to be different from the world.
And when they see a wife fulfilling that God
-given task and then picturing and imaging what
Jesus did in His time on earth, it becomes a
beautiful thing that the wife is called to do.
But husbands, we're also given an incredible
task, an incredible calling to love your wife
as Christ loves the church. And to be honest
again, Our lives are busy, right, husbands? Okay?
It's not that the wives' lives aren't busy. They're
just as busy as we are. But this is often the
argument I hear from the husbands. I'm busy.
I do all of these things. And it can be easy
to get caught up in what we are doing and not
love our wives as we should. For some men, that's
just the way things are. They come home, they
say hi to their wives, they veg out on the recliner
while the wife continues to work hard for the
household. And the husband just thinks, well,
that's how it's supposed to be. But how beautiful
is it when we as the husband step into the moment
of our wives come alongside them and love them
in service to help them and nurture them, right?
And I know that we're tired. I know we are busy,
but so was Jesus during his ministry. We all
remember the story of Jesus feeding the 5 ,000,
correct? Right? An incredible miracle that Jesus
did. He's surrounded by a crowd of much more
than 5 ,000 because that was just the men. That's
not counting the wives and children that were
there in that crowd. So thousands upon thousands
of people have found Jesus. They've literally...
like encapsulated him, okay, cut him off from
escaping so that he can preach to them and minister
to them, and then they're hungry. And so Jesus
performs this incredible miracle. But do we remember
the context of what happened right before that
incredible miracle? Right before that, Jesus
had just found out that his cousin and dear friend
John the Baptist, who had been arrested, had
been executed and beheaded. He had just heard
that news. And the Bible says Jesus wanted to
get away, that he wanted to be alone. And we
can understand why. He wanted to be alone, to
pray and to mourn and to prepare himself to continue
submitting to what the Father wanted him to do.
But what happened? In the middle of his exhaustion,
in the middle of what he wanted to do, thousands
of people said, Jesus, we want you. We need your
help. We need you right now. And what does Jesus
do? Does Jesus look at them and go, no, I can't
do it right now. I need some me time. Does He
just escape to His ancient world man cave and
say, I'll get to it when I get to it? No. Instead,
Jesus showed compassion for His people and He
ministered to them. And husbands, that is what
it looks like to love your wives as Christ loved
His church. When Christian husbands and wives
truly live out these things in their marriage
the world around them will know and be impacted
by it I want you to write this down as another
note for us this morning healthy Christian marriages
Point people to Christ they point both the world
and each other to Christ a healthy Christian
marriage will point people to Christ. We should
look different as husbands and wives to the rest
of the world when they see the way we interact
with each other, when they see the way that we
love each other, and the way we disagree with
each other. Being a healthy Christian marriage
doesn't mean you're not going to get in arguments,
amen? It's going to happen, but we still love
each other even through those moments. We still
cherish each other. We lift each other up, and
both parties of that marriage will be pointed
to Christ when we fulfill those roles that we've
been tasked with. And so will the rest of the
world when they look in on your household and
they see the way that you love each other. So
let your marriage be the incredible witnessing
tool that it should be. Let your countercultural
submission and sacrificial love for each other
point others to faith in Jesus because that's
what He's called us to do. But it's not just
marriage, it's also in the area of parenting.
Let's read the next verses here together, verse
20 and 21. So let's start here, again, as Paul
does in order, with children. Look at what he
says. may have caught your attention. If not,
you might not be paying attention, okay? Because
you're still obey your parents in everything.
Well, surely we don't have to actually obey everything,
right? What if they ask us to do something wrong?
Is a question I hear a lot from teenagers. Well,
again, we need to remember again who Paul is
addressing this to. He's addressing this to Christian
families. And he's assuming, though it might
not always be correct, that these Christian parents
will tell their children to do things that are
in line with God's Word. We are always supposed
to obey God rather than man. God's Word comes
first. But Paul is assuming here, and that's
a challenge to us, right parents, that we're
always going to be asking our children to do
things that fall in line with God's Word. And
so for that, Kids are supposed to obey in everything
and that means that children don't get to pick
and choose what they want to obey God has placed
your parents over you as your first authority
in your life and we please God when we show honor
and obedience and respect to our parents and
Just as with wives children picture Christ and
being obedient to their parents kids or youth
in here, you do well to remind yourselves or
try to memorize this passage from Philippians
chapter 2 verses 5 through 8. I don't think this
will be on the screen, so listen to this. Philippians
2 5 through 8 says, Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, listen to
this, though he was in the form of God, did not
count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men, and being
found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on
a cross." See, this passage reminds us that Jesus
was a child at one point, too, and he was raised
in a family and had to obey his parents just
like we were supposed to. I want you to imagine
this. The Creator of all things had to come to
the dinner table when his mother called him.
You thought of it that way before, right? The
sustainer of the universe had to do the chores
that his earthly father Joseph told him to do.
Jesus is the one that holds all things together,
but when Joseph says, hey son, come help me with
this project, Jesus said, yes sir, the creator
of all things. obeyed his parents. But not only
did he obey his earthly parents, but he was incredibly
and perfectly obedient to his Heavenly Father
as well. That passage in Philippians says that
he was obedient to the point of death, even death
on the cross. So kids in here today, I think
we can be obedient with the things our parents
ask of us, huh? I don't think any of them are
asking you to go sacrifice yourself for the whole
world. Probably. I challenge you, in fact, to
challenge the way that you think about obedience
to your parents. Do you have to absolutely love
doing chores or whatever it is your parents tell
you to do? Not necessarily. Does it mean that
you're going to have to be in love with washing
dishes? No. However, I want you to realize that
by simply obeying your parents with a humble
spirit, You are identifying with Christ. Just
as the wife identifies by submitting to the spiritual
leadership of the husband, just by the husband
identifies with Jesus by loving his wife sacrificially
and giving himself for you. Kids, you identify
with Christ by humbling yourself and being obedient
to your parents. Then let's move to fathers.
The command to fathers could easily be applied
to mothers as well, but Paul is addressing fathers
here as the head of the household, and as such,
they should parent their children well. And Paul
says that fathers should not provoke their children
so that they do not become discouraged. Now,
please hear me. We should properly discipline
our kids when they misbehave. Yes, the Bible
is also very clear on that, but there is a big
difference in godly discipline and harsh, overly
strict controlling. parenting fathers before
your children truly knows what it means to obey
you and everything they should already know just
how much you love them and want to be with them
that needs to come first i had a friend growing
up whose parents were christians and they they
were um very godly people and i mean that with
all my heart i knew them for most of my life
i spent a lot of time with them but they were
extremely strict and harsh with my friend to
the point where he was not allowed to like understand
the mistakes that he had made and they would
often put him down and be harsh with him instead
of teaching him how to learn from those mistakes
and sadly that friend did not draw closer to
God and to the church because of the way that
he was parented instead he walked away from that.
And he has a relationship with his parents now,
but for many years he didn't. And to this day,
he still does not consider himself a Christian
and is completely removed from the church. And
I'm not fully blaming his parents. He makes choices
in his own life, yes. But what could have been
different if those parents had treated those
rules and the obedience as a loving opportunity
instead of being harsh with their son? as they're
called to. See, growing up I love and I cherish
my parents and they had plenty of rules for me
to follow and obey and there were consequences
if I didn't. But I, for the most part, had no
problem accepting those rules because I knew
first and foremost how deeply they loved me.
I knew how deeply my father especially loved
me for who I was. I hear Jessica talk about all
the time about how close I am with my father
and the really funny relationship. If any of
you ever get to spend time with Ted Massey, you'll
see just how similar to me he is in a lot of
ways. But father's... Get to know your kids.
Get interested in what they're interested in.
Get on your knees and play with their toys with
them. Go exploring with them. Take them shopping.
Read a book that they want to read to them. Listen
when they want to tell you about their day. Encourage
them to follow Jesus. Do these things and you'll
create an environment and a relationship with
your kids that will make them want to obey you
as God tells them to do. And more importantly,
it'll show your children why obeying God and
following Jesus is worth it because they see
that example in you. Take note of this or write
this down. Godly parenting is the best tool for
exposing your children to the gospel. Godly parenting
is the best tool for exposing your kids to the
gospel. Bringing your kids to church and youth
group are great things. Please do. I want to
be the youth pastor for your kids. But there
is no substitute for the influence of godly parents
in the lives of their kids. I am not the first
line of defense for your kids' spiritual lives.
Ashley and the other children's teachers are
not the first line of defense. Alex, if you just
want to shove them in his office and be like,
hey, fix my kids, it doesn't work that way. Parents,
God placed them in your lives and you in their
lives to be that first line of defense. So parent
your kids in ways that draw them to Jesus. Now
we move to what many would consider to be the
Controversial part of the message and we're going
to do the intro of this very quickly Okay, because
we move here to the ESV says bond servants most
English translations just go ahead and use the
word slaves and so I want to make sure we understand
something slaves were a much different thing
for the most part in this ancient world and the
Roman culture here that when we think of American
slavery and the horrors that that is, right?
The word bond servant there is much more what
he is focusing on. A lot of scholars and historians
have found that in this time, over 50 % of the
population in the Roman Empire were slaves. And
this idea of bond servant, indentured servitude,
where they were paying off a debt. Some people
were born into this, but many of them would become
free. In fact, most different people, most jobs,
including positions like shop owners, politicians,
even doctors, were slaves in this ancient Roman
world. Okay? And so if you want a more deep dive
on the biblical version or the biblical idea
on slavery and why, yes, it is wrong and Paul
is not saying it is okay here in any way, then
that is something we can address. It would take
a whole other sermon or a really cool podcast
episode, so send that in to Alex so we can talk
about that another time. But I want to make sure
we focus on the purpose here, because in this
part of the passage, Paul isn't writing to try
to abolish this practice. Remember, he's writing
a letter to a church. And this church included
both freed people and it included slaves. And
so, yes, the Bible talks in plenty of other places
what we should do with the practice of slavery.
But here, Paul is encouraging the Christians
in whatever walk of life you're in to be an obedient
disciple. So he points out for those who are
bond servants or slaves currently, How do you
be an obedient Christian in that? So let's talk
about that. Look there in verse 22. You are serving
the Lord Christ, for the wrongdoer will be paid
back for the wrong he has done, and there is
no partiality. Masters, treat your bond servants
justly and fairly, knowing that you also have
a master in heaven. So what we're going to focus
on, considering that most of these bond servants
fulfilled the jobs of the time, the best way
to apply this is as employees and employers.
for our modern times, for those who are working
and those who are bosses over other people. So
let's start with those bond servants or workers.
Just as with the rest of the Christian family
that he was talking to, this is talking to Christian
servants, okay? And all Christians are called
to live their lives in ways that really baffle
the lost. Therefore, Christian slaves were not
called to rebellion here, but humble servitude
in the name of Christ. It's interesting, isn't
it? Paul doesn't tell these servants, hey, rise
up in the face of your masters and say, no, you're
evil, wicked people. No, he says, hey, in this
place where you're in right now, you can still
be a servant of Christ. And in fact, you can
be a representative of Christ. So in our jobs,
Christians are expected to be respectful, obedient
employee. And that's regardless of the faith
of our employers. See, the same language here
is used as for children. Obey in everything those
who are your earthly masters. Obviously, as I
said before, if we're told to do something against
God's Word, we are to obey God rather than man.
But in every normal day -to -day thing, we are
to obey those people who are over us in our jobs.
And Paul even focuses on that obedience there
saying, not just with eye service as people pleasers,
but with sincerity of heart. Christian employees
should be the most hardworking employees on the
planet. Amen? That's what we're supposed to be.
And not just when the boss is watching, not just
on the day we're having our employee review.
No, we're supposed to be the hardest workers.
at all times, because we do this as if God was
our master, because ultimately He is. He is the
one that we are trying to serve. The passage
that Christian read that Alex is going to cover
next week ended saying, and whatever you do in
word or deed, do everything in the name of your
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
Him. We might ask, but what if our boss isn't
a Christian? Well, then our hard work and integrity
can do the job of pointing them to Jesus. My
favorite example, there's many examples of people
that did this like Joseph or Daniel in their
service. My favorite example of this was someone,
we do not have her name, and boy I wish we did.
I really can't wait to find out one day. All
we know is that she was a little slave girl that
was owned by a Syrian general named Naaman. Naaman
was the enemy of God's people and he had raided
this little girl's village and probably had her
parents killed, or at least his soldiers did.
And then he took her as a little slave girl,
a little Jewish girl. And Naaman had a big problem
because he was dying from leprosy. And the Bible
says, we don't get any more context with this,
all we know is his little slave girl, instead
of hating him, reaches out to Naaman's wife and
says, hey, don't want Naaman to die. There is
a prophet in Israel who can heal him of his leprosy.
And because of that little slave girl caring
for her master, Naaman goes and meets the prophet
Elisha, and through God's power he's healed.
And not only is he healed physically, but he
actually begins worshiping Yahweh, the God of
Israel, because of that little slave girl. That's
what we are supposed to be in our jobs. So Paul
reminds workers to obey because it is ultimately
God whom they're serving. But I love this, he
also reminds them that God will reward them for
their faithfulness. Sometimes it can feel like
we're just trying our best to serve God, especially
if we're not serving him in a Christian culture.
And it might seem like we're just wasting our
time. I'm trying to serve God, but I get in trouble
because my boss wants me to work on Sundays and
I'm saying I can't. Right? My boss doesn't like
Christians, so maybe he gave the promotion to
someone else who didn't deserve it instead of
me because he just doesn't like Christians. Is
this worth it? and especially for slaves in this
time, because Roman slaves were not permitted
to inherit anything from their masters as they
were not an official part of their family. And
since many slaves were born into that life, it
left them without hope of any inheritance, even
if they were one day freed from being a bondservant.
But Paul says that God offers them the inheritance
of Christ. Their service might feel unrewarded
in this life, but they will receive the perfect
reward for all eternity. So Christian worker,
hear me. God sees your efforts. He knows what
you are doing. And if you don't feel like you're
being rewarded for that now, trust in that promise.
That you have the inheritance of Jesus that goes
beyond any earthly inheritance that we could
ever possibly receive. That salvation and eternal
life through Jesus. is offered to all of us.
But then Paul moves to masters. Paul ends the
section by addressing what I guess we could apply
as our employers for us today. And he tells them
to treat their servants justly and fairly. If
you have employees that work under your authority
today, what kind of boss are you? Because as
Christian employers, we should treat every employee
with respect, care, and fairness. We should not
lord our position over them. We should take care
of them. Paul reminds masters that the real reason
they should do this and care for them is because
every earthly master also has a master in heaven.
And who are we to think that we are any better
than anyone else? Just because we have pastoral
interns that I make print things for me. Thank
you, Christian, by the way. But just because
we have like people like that, does that mean
that Alex and I, because we have reverend and
actual, quote unquote, pastor before our name,
are any better of a Christian than these two
incredible men? Does it? It's not a trick question,
I promise you. No. Okay. As much as Alex and
I want to and to teach them to, we have things
that we learn about the ministry from these two
men. Because we're no different from them. And
if you are an employee or an employer, know that
there's nothing about you that is any better
than them. Don't identify yourself in that way.
Identify yourself as equal but in a position
of authority that God has given you. And when
you view it that way, you'll see your employees
as someone to reach out to. So the family unit
is our first priority in living as disciples
of Jesus, but the workplace is where we really
tend to spend most of the rest of our time. So
I want you to take note of this, right down this
last point for us today. The workplace is the
mission field God has called you to today. Maybe
if you've wondered how you can find opportunities
to share Jesus with others, look no further than
where you work. Whether you're the boss or employee
God has placed you right where you are Because
he wants to use you and you can be his disciple
right there at work. Let me use my own father
again I know he's gonna be listening to this
so he's gonna be embarrassed But my father has
worked for Honda a Honda dealership since mr.
Honda was alive probably It's been a long time
and he works in the parts department and he while
he has some Christian co -workers Most of the
environment that he's working under is not, right?
But what I love about my dad is he, I know that
he listens to every single time that I preach
and he listens to many of Alex's sermons as well
whenever he's kind of on a break at work. But
what I love about my dad and his coworker, I
know his coworker friend does this too, when
they're listening to the sermons, they don't
put their headphones on, they turn their speakers
on so that other people can hear it. the people
there I guess because my dad's worked there so
long that they probably think like well we can't
tell Ted to turn it down because he's Ted right
but he just lets it Blair and then people come
ask questions and I remember back when I preached
my um my very first sermon back in North Carolina
he had a co -worker who I don't even know if
he is a Christian but wanted to come here because
he'd heard my dad talk about me and what God
was doing in my life my dad is using a Honda
dealership to be a mission field. So wherever
God has you, He put you there for a purpose.
If you're an employee or an employer, use that
as the mission field He called you to. The Christian
life is an incredible calling, and we're given
the task of imaging God to the rest of the world.
So when the lost look at us, they should see
what God looks like. And Paul writes for us here
that the best places to do that are in the home
and in the workplace. And listen, I've said a
lot this morning, but in case you missed it,
here's the easiest summary of how to do all of
the things that Paul wrote about here, and all
the things that I said. Be imitators of Jesus
Christ. Wives, look to how Jesus submitted himself
to the will of the Father, though he was equal
with him. Husbands? Look to how deeply Jesus
loves his church and was willing to sacrifice
his life for her. Children, look to Jesus and
how he humbled himself to be obedient to the
very creatures he created. Fathers, look to Jesus
to see the grace that he offers us while we are
still in our sins. Workers, look to Jesus to
see how he humbly served as many people as he
could. And employers, look to Jesus to see how
he lovingly cared for the people that came to
him. May we all look to Jesus as that perfect
example for us to follow. Amen Let's pray together
Father we thank you so much