Your Workplace is Sacred - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

And we are actually going to spill over into chapter six and verse one. Verse 24 verse 25 of the previous chapter we've alluded to in different ways. It speaks about secret sin and the true character of a man being revealed in due time, whether it's now or later. And I I think it's appropriate that we can move on to the next chapter and see what the Lord has in mind with these two verses. Let's pray again, please.

Father, we we need your help now in the opening of your word, in the reading of your word, in the understanding of these scriptures, and the application of it. Lord, apart from the assistance of your Holy Spirit, this will fail. You must help us, Lord. You must work in our hearts to be open enough to receive it, and Lord, for the power necessary to communicate it clearly and with conviction. Lord, we ask that it would be your voice that would be heard.

And Lord, we do not rely on the arm of the flesh this morning. Lord, we have not come here to just, just hear information or glean some insights. We need life changing power. And Lord, whether we recognize it or not, we need it. And we ask, Lord, that you would provide it.

And Lord, we just pray that your presence would only magnify and only intensify as we continue to read your word and understand it. Let our hearts burn this morning. By your grace and your help and mercy for the glory of your name, we ask these things. In Jesus name, amen. First Timothy chapter six beginning in verse one, we read, let all who are under a yoke as bond servants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.

Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers, rather they must serve all the better, since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Over the past few weeks, you and I have heard a series of charges from Paul to Christians, and how they should relate to certain people that they might be engaged with on a regular basis. And so you and I heard the charge for us as a church, as believers to honor a category of people known as widows. And then from there, we learn what Paul said concerning how we can respect and admire those who are pastors. But the charge to honor has not ceased.

It only continues into another sphere of life. And that sphere of life that Paul, the Holy Spirit mainly is concerned about is the workplace. Is your employer, your manager, your supervisor. And I'm sure it's safe to say that many people here spend most of your time during the week, or studying to spend most of your time during the week to work, and to be in a field where you have to provide for yourself or for your family. And the idea of work is not some social construct.

It is God's idea. It is something before the fall that was instituted and it is necessary for all Christians to be engaged in. And the word of God continually provides warning about this realm that you and I are a part of. And the main warning is that as believers, we can adopt a slothful and idle attitude toward this thing called work, and be dismissive about its necessity for personal labor and for personal provision. And that is something that is special in the sense that we can deceive ourselves as Christians.

To think that I don't need to be a part of something, I don't need to be dedicated to something, I don't need to wake up every day and and put on my boots and go to work because I have this loving community known as the church that that I think can dish out some some help here and can provide. And if I talk to enough people and they give a certain amount, I I can accumulate a salary. But the scriptures are clear in different places that if a Christian is not willing to work, he does not deserve to even eat. But there are other temptations that face the believer in this area of life. And some Christians are not even aware of this thing that they have adopted and have succumb to and have believed.

And that area is a mindset of a false dichotomy that we have created in our existence on this earth. And the false dichotomy is this, you ready? There's a division that we have made up between the secular and the sacred. The secular and the sacred. And what do I mean by that?

I mean that we have developed an understanding that there are certain things in life that we place in our minds under the category of holy. And at the same time, there are things that we do in life that are mundane and seem neutral and seem common to all men, and so we put it under the category of neutral or secular. Now, this looks like somebody thinking that their eight hour shift in a cubicle is secular and you going to outreach with the church ministry team, three hours on a Saturday is sacred. Right? That is sacred.

That is holy. That is honorable. That is pleasing to God. This is just something I do as a human and it has no value, has no worth. It's just something I have to do because I have to do it.

This is the part of our world. Here's my question. Does the Bible provide or draw such a division? The answer, absolutely not. It doesn't exist.

This dichotomy, this division that we have made up as believers is not real. And it's important for us to understand that because this misguided split that we have fabricated to frame our sense of purpose in life, has the potential of promoting a fear and a failure. Not realizing that there is a series of sacred acts that we can provide to the Lord, if we just believe it. And just in case we might object to this thought by thinking of examples of insignificant activities, Paul takes it upon himself inspired and stirred by the spirit of God to narrow it down to universal acts that all men participate in. And so he says, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do for the glory of God.

And this is more important than we might imagine, because your workplace is sacred. It's, it's not very unlikely that a small percentage, if not maybe a very small percentage of people in here will enter into full time ministry. So what does that leave it to everybody else? What's the instruction for you and your purpose in life? Well, this is what this text is about.

And again, if we don't really grasp this, you might live years from this point on feeling frustrated, angry, undervalued, and wondering if you're really serving the Lord Jesus Christ to the capacity in which you think you should. And here's what happens if we do not erase that line between the sacred and the secular. Danger number one. It leaves God's children unsettled and generally unsatisfied. So you've been there, haven't you?

Sitting in your workplace and from time to time in your imagination, you peer over the fence to look over the lush life of full time vocational ministry while you try to water your mundane boring routine. And you think to yourself, if only, if only, if only. And you fantasize about what it would be like to serve the Lord and preaching the gospel, praying all the time, or reading and studying the scriptures, or being a missionary, or aiding the homeless down in the city. And so you compare and you think to yourself, I'm not doing what I think I should be doing. And maybe you haven't entertained the thought of full time ministry, but of consuming your time with spiritual activity, and thinking that if you're not doing that as a sincere follower of Christ, then you are not genuine, Or you're not fulfilling what God wants you to fulfill to its maximum potential.

And so you continue to examine your boring, repetitive occupation and A. W. Tozer, who wrote extensively on the subject wrote the following, quote, We come unconsciously to recognize two sets of actions. The first, the first performed with a feeling of satisfaction and a firm assurance that they are pleasing to God. These are the sacred acts and they are usually thought to be prayer, bible reading, hymn singing, church attendance and such other acts as spring directly from faith.

He nailed it on the head when he said it here, that they are performed with a feeling of satisfaction and a firm assurance that they are pleasing to God. This is what God really wants from me. This is what brings about his smile over my life. And what Tozer said here is true because the opposite of true is that if we're not engaged in these things that are directly related to our faith, then they are perhaps not pleasing to God. And and they are not sacred.

And they don't offer some kind of fragrance to him. They're just kind of colorless. And he looks over it and he waits for you to to punch out so that you can get to what really matters when you come on Wednesday or you come on Friday or you go out and you engage in evangelism. That's what really matters to God. And because we believe that, we are unsatisfied with where we're at, what we spend most of our time doing.

We undervalue it because we think God doesn't value it. And we perhaps even expect that where we're stationed in life, God expects us to find a way out as soon as possible. To pray enough and to fast enough to know what his will is and what we think his will is is that you need to be in some kind of sacrificial, consecrated, set apart work that's directly to the kingdom of God and if not, again, you're wasting your time, energy in your existence. And we should be encouraged to know that the Holy Spirit uses the Apostle Paul to speak directly to this kind of temptation, because it is a very real temptation, especially those who first become believers. Turn your Bibles to first Corinthians chapter seven, just a few pages back from first Timothy.

And perhaps you are not convinced of And perhaps you are not convinced of this temptation in your life. You've overcome it. You've never believed it. But if you if you're tempted to tune out because of that, would you would you just hear these things out so that you can help a believer, and help a brother or sister who might feel the pressures of this dichotomy that they have created. So we come to first Corinthians chapter seven, Paul writes here in verse 20.

Each one should remain. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bond servant when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.

What's Paul saying here? The context suggests that whatever marriage you're in, what kind of occupation you might be in, what kind of location you might be abiding, Wherever you find yourself when you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, that is exactly where you need to stay and remain. Paul's obviously not saying that if you are in sin or some illegal activity when you receive Christ that you shouldn't bother yourself of escaping that. That's obvious. But what he is saying is this, do not be concerned about the next step.

Look at those precious words. Do not be concerned about it. Don't let it disturb your spirit. Don't fall into anxiety. Don't let it drive you to the spirit.

Don't let it relinquish your desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in your context. Don't fall into that trap. Why would he say that? Because that's how we feel. Those who are truly changed by the gospel have a new heart desire to serve God and to serve him with whatever he asks of them, and they want to serve him with zeal and with great sacrifice.

You know it when you got saved. You were willing to do anything. Send me to Africa. Let me be poor. I'll survive out of bread and water for the rest of my life.

Lord, you are worthy. Right? And the idea here is that because of that zeal, it doesn't match with your context or your limitations. So there's a a friction that's created now. There's a frustration that's developed.

And Paul is saying here, even racially, there are those who attempted to say, if I'm circumcised, I gotta change that. If I'm a slave, I gotta change. He says, stop. Don't be so concerned about your current condition when you came to Christ. The only thing that you should be aware of, the only thing that you should be convinced of leaving when you became a born again believer is your sin.

That's the only thing. If you want a green light, if you want an assurance of what needs to change in your life, is that you need to stop your lifestyle of rebellion against God. Well, what about everything else? Well, hold on. Don't be concerned about it.

Why would we be concerned about it? Because we think our circumstance or condition limits us from glorifying God. And Paul is saying here, it's a wonderful truth that it doesn't. In fact, he goes on to say, there is no circumstance cruel master, you shouldn't be concerned about how you can glorify God. Even if you're chained, even if you're limited, even if you're locked up, there's still opportunity.

This is supposed to impart faith. This is supposed to settle our souls. This is supposed to make us feel as though God providentially knew where I would be and what I would be doing when he changed my heart. See, we we wanna try to figure it all out once we come to Christ. Right?

And sometimes not just when you come to Christ, as you grow in Christ, I need to know every step. I need and you can pray about it and you can seek it, and I believe it should be the constant posture of a believer to say, Lord, what do you have in mind for me in this season? Do you want me to be somewhere else? Is there something you want me to do? Paul is saying, do not be concerned about it, but he's realistic here.

He's saying here that if you have the opportunity to gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. Meaning, if you can, as a slave, find freedom, do it. If you can find a better opportunity or something that's more profitable to you, consider it and go for it. He's being realistic here. It's not like you don't move ever now.

So there's a balance here. It's not that you don't dream, and you don't think, and you don't plan to grow. No. He's saying you can, but his main point is this, those who long to glorify God in all that we do, know that you can trust that as you stay posted, God will use you in that context. And if he really wants you to be somewhere else, he'll tell you.

God is a big God, and God can speak, and God can move things around. You can trust that. We have this idea that we want to glorify God more than he wants us to glorify him. And we have this false idea that I want God's will for my life more than God's will for his life, my life to be fulfilled. And this is nothing but a false idea.

But once settled, you might be wondering then what do I do with this job? What do I do with this school? What do I do while I stay in this city and I hate the winter? What do I do? Here's what you do, verse 24 of the same text.

So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let them remain with God. I love the way Paul says that because I can't help but think that I have some liberty to rephrase it this way, stay where you are and invite God into it. Stay where you are. Station yourself. Plant yourself.

Don't move unless God prompts you or obviously leads you or stirs you and then abide there with the Lord Jesus Christ. Labor, work, serve with a prayerful attitude and a conscious awareness of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and also him being with you. Sometimes people are in agony. Oh, an agony because they wanna know the next step while all the while God wants to be a part of what you're doing now. Can we seek for the next step?

I just said it. Yes. You can seek for the next step, but don't in the process of seeking the next step, fail to allow God to use you now. And to seek, Lord. Okay.

Now, I understand that you can lead me, but right here in this place, what is it that you have for my life? Who do I need to touch? What do I need to do? How do I need to grow? And so we're so concerned about the days ahead, but that we neglect about our day to day.

And he says, you remain there with God even as a slave, even as a slave. You invite the Lord into it. And I cannot help but think of the story of Joseph. I can't help but think of that man's life when I read these verses. You know why?

Because he is one of the few stories in the Bible where you see him in different environments throughout his young life. And in one season you see him being a manager of a household, another see him, you see him what? Being a supervisor of a prison, and after a few short years, what do you see? That he is leading a nation. And there is one thread that connects all those different circumstances that bring worth and value to each one of them, equal worth and value.

And And I want you to turn to Genesis 39 to see it. Genesis 39. We read here in verse one. Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, who bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there. Look at this, the Lord was with Joseph.

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. Wonderful. Then you scroll down and what do you see in verse 21? This is after he was falsely accused of rape, and it says here, but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And you flip a few pages in Genesis 45 verse nine, after his identity has been revealed to his brothers and he wants his father to come to see him and he says here, hurry, of Genesis forty five nine, hurry and go up to my father and say to him, thus says your son Joseph, God has made me Lord of all Egypt.

Come down to me, do not tarry. Potiphar's house, prison, palace. Totally different environments, totally different task and responsibility, one main thing in common, God was with him. God was with him in every single place, in every single responsibility, the Lord was with Joseph. And what's so encouraging about this is that you cannot deny that when you read his life.

And it wasn't just proven in his work ethic. Yes, he was successful. Yes, he was noble. Yes, he had integrity, but it was also shown when he had to express his conviction, when he was being tempted. But what's interesting is that from the beginning, you and I know about Joseph's life.

We are introduced to him as a man who had a dream, a series of dreams. Where God said, you're gonna have your brothers bow before you. In fact, you're gonna have the whole world bow before you. And that was God's revealed call for his life. That was God's ultimate purpose for him.

But you know what the Bible doesn't do? Jump from Genesis 37 to this point, skipping from year 17 to year 30 to just bring about the fulfillment of that ignoring all the rest. Why? Because everything in between was important to God And it was important for Joseph. And so here was a man who who knew to a degree what God had in mind for him, and God takes him through this series.

These mountains and these valleys. And you know what Joseph doesn't do? Well until God does this, I'm not gonna serve him. God, I don't know how all of this makes sense in light of what you've given me as a divine revelation here, so I'm just gonna hold tight until it comes to pass. Now, as God's providential wind blew in his sails, he touched as many people as possible throughout.

And he sought to glorify God, whether it was saying no to a promiscuous woman or is being the best prison supervisor they ever had. God could have summarized the story, but he doesn't. Because the stories in between matter, and guess what? They matter for you and I as well. And that's the kind of capacity to which we think God will be glorified and we will be most satisfied.

Right? That's what we love to go to. Look how look how Joseph went to the palace. He went from 17 years old to 30 years old and and look what he's doing now for God. Look how God used them to preserve the nation of Israel and look how he became a savior to his generation.

Oh, Lord. If only I could What about the hidden times? Are those insignificant to God? And I'd like to see Joseph in Potiphar's house and I'd like to see Joseph in prison. And it's quite funny to realize that although it was the fulfillment of God's call for his life to be in that palace, we are often drawn to those other scenes.

To receive consolation and inspiration. Right? And so yes, he was used to preserve a generation in his people so that the Messiah would have the lane to enter into the world through that nation. But but consider how Joseph was used by God. Look at Genesis 40.

Here he is in that prison and we are told that there were two of pharaoh's employees thrown into that same prison. And And we are told here in verse five, and one night they both dreamed. The cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the prison, each his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. Now look at this. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.

You know what you don't see Joseph doing when he was falsely accused of rape? Being a slave to Potiphar and now worse than a slave, a prisoner in a stinking cell? You don't see him sulking in his own prison room complaining why God allowed this. I thought you gave me a dream, God. How does that make sense in light of these events?

And raising his fist to heaven? No. He was observant of his environment. And here he is day to day going into work and one day he noticed, he was familiar enough with the people in there for him to notice that two of them were troubled. Something wrong with them.

Their faces are downcast. I saw one crying earlier, and he had enough courage and love in his heart to inquire of them. So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, why are your faces downcast today? And so before he made any commands to Egypt and the known world, he made inquiry of two men. What's wrong with you?

What's going on? Has something happened? Is everything okay at home? You seem off these past few days. And the Holy Spirit records this for many reasons but consider this, you can do the same.

You can do the same. He was observant enough. He wasn't self centered, he wasn't consumed with his own issues, he had enough love in his heart to look beyond himself in his own situation and to ask about the well-being of another. You can do that every single day. All it requires for you and I to stop making this false idea that what I do from nine to five is insignificant, it's silly, it's just so I can pay my bills, but what I really need to do is have the title and be a part of a ministry team and go out and do this on a weekly basis for it to be official.

Get that out of your mind and begin to get on your knees and ask God for your workplace to be the mission field that he's ordained for your life. So this man comes on the scene and he says, what's wrong with you guys? You know, it's amazing what a question can do. It's amazing what a question can do. I remember being in college freshly saved.

And this is not to make myself a hero, but this example just comes to mind as a Hopefully, it's just some kind of illustration. I remember a girl in that school, she because our classes were small, it was a very small program, so we saw the same people every single time and twenty, twenty five people in the same class. I remember this one girl, she came to class almost every day for that week with tears in her eyes. She wouldn't laugh, she wouldn't smile, she would engage in conversation. So the only thing I really did was just ask a question.

Hey, are you alright? And it just broke the seal and this girl began to cry and explain that her mother was just diagnosed with cancer. And in that moment, we just began to engage in a conversation. Would you know it the gospel came up? Would you know it the the sovereignty of God and trusting in the Lord came up?

And then from there, she was so encouraged that she brought that news to her mother. And so her mother reached out to me via social media and we began to engage and and the gospel went directly to her. From what? A question. Just a simple question.

What's going on with you? I'm not saying it's gonna happen every single time, but would you know it? Somebody will actually take up the opportunity to open their hearts because many people don't care about others. I heard of a story of a man who wanted to commit suicide in San Francisco. He determined to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, And the question, or rather the the last stand that he would take to turn away from such a final decision was that he would get on the bus in between his bus stop and that that place where he was supposed to be dropped off and jump off the bridge.

He said, I will not do this if one person asks me if I'm doing okay. I won't do this if one person stops me and asks me how I'm doing. And he was on that bus and he was weeping on that bus, and this is a true story and he overheard two men talking, one man saying, what's wrong with that kid? And as he approached his destination, he came up to the bus driver and the doors open and he hesitated to get on the bus driver and said, get out. We gotta move on here kid, let's go.

And when he took those steps off that bus, he determined within himself, nobody cares. Nobody cares. And he plunged off that bridge, but he he survived only to share that the moment those hands of his lifted off that rail, he immediately regretted making the decision to take his own life. Suicide sounds like an escape. Right?

I'll tell you, you'll regret it the moment you attempt it. This man did. He's not even a believer. What a question can do. But it requires for us to be prayerful, attentive, and loving enough to even to be missional.

To say what's going on. And so before Joseph made any orders, he simply cared and God used them in that kind of a setting. And I love to think, what if Joseph have taken this time in prison to do other things? To sulk and to complain and to whine and to be bitter against God instead? Like Paul said, let him remain with God.

Whatever condition he finds himself in, let him abide with God. And God was with Joseph. God can be with you as a dish boy. God can be with you as you make sandwiches. God can be with you as you nail that hammer or hammer that nail rather.

So you can tell I'm not in construction. Right? God can be with you, but you have to invite him. It's it's a dangerous thing, this dichotomy, because it can leave us unsettled and unsatisfied in in thinking that we're not fulfilling God's plan for our lives. But secondly, it can cause us to miss opportunities as we just alluded to to glorify God.

And that's our main text in first Timothy six. What does he say here? Paul says, Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor. Paul's not restricting the duty of a believer to just honor those in the church whether it's a widow or a pastor. He goes beyond the church now.

This is interesting. This is interesting in a text that deals with how the church government should function and how we should relate to one another, that he now goes outside the four walls and says, it's important for you to take what you do in here and bring it out there. And so he says, it's not just about how you engage with others here. It's a it's just as important that who you are in here reflects who you are out there. But unlike any other form of honor as we learn in this chapter, in the previous chapter, this honor does not include financial support, obviously.

But it's a heavy focus of deep respect and recognition of authority regardless of how you might feel the person who is in that superior position. And that's what he's calling for. And what's amazing here is that again, he alludes to what? Slavery. Slavery, which might make us feel uncomfortable, but you'll never find Paul calling for the abolishment of this institution of his day.

Nor will you ever find Paul approving of it either, because that's not Paul's concern. Paul is never concerned about social reform. I'm sorry to shatter your dreams. Nor was he called for some kind of economic structure to be changed. He was concerned about something that was more necessary and more vital, that would bring more permanent change and that's the gospel transforming hearts within those arenas and those institutions.

So he didn't write a whole essay about why being a bondservant was this and that and nor did he approve of it, but what was he concerned? You're in it. This is a reality of our day. Now in that context, may you prayfully be an example of the goodness of God and prove that God can transform a life so that those who are over you can be transformed by the same power. And he focuses on that, and the danger of Christians today who are so caught up in the social justice movement is that in their pursuit of bringing reform to systems and institutions is that they lose the message of the gospel altogether.

And all it becomes is about changing this and changing laws and changing that, and where's the gospel anymore? We don't sound no different than the world, and all we're doing is bringing temporary solutions to a temporary life while eternal souls perish because we're too cowardly and unbelieving about the gospel bringing true change. You bring the gospel to people and institutions will change. You bring the gospel to systems and systems will change. You change systems and institutions apart from the gospel, just wait a generation, it will be corrupt again.

So Paul's not concerned here with social reform like many Christians are today. Should you be passionate about issues? Should we be passionate about justice? Absolutely. But apart from the gospel, you're wasting your time.

We come with practical righteousness but also with the gospel of imparted and imputed righteousness in the other hand. We don't come with one. And so Paul here, wants to give instructions to these Christians that were obviously slaves in this church. And it helps to know that both in the old and new testament, slavery looked much different than our preconceived notions of pre civil war African American slavery. In this day, you would find very educated people as slaves.

You'd find teachers and doctors, and you'd be surprised to know how much of the population in Rome were actually slaves. And some were treated very very well. They had their own families, they even had a piece of some of the property of their of their owners. They were treated like blood brothers. And some realistically were obviously treated with cruelty and lack of mercy.

But here's his main point, and this is why we can be confident to apply these principles even in this context, in this ancient institution to our own lives. Your opportunity to glorify God is not just limited to honoring widows, not just limited to honoring your pastor, it goes beyond. You can honor your manager. And God cares about that. He really does.

And this can be especially frustrating when we know that those who are over us that we relate to every single day, do not hold the same convictions and do not love the Lord Jesus Christ. So then what happens? Well, Paul here is not concerned about anything else at your workplace, other than these two main motives at least in this text, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. More important than your potential promotion, more important than the risk of you potentially losing your job, here's what's concerned in the Holy Spirit's bosom, that your life, your life would not bring a resistance or rejection to God, but would cause a curiosity and would offer a fragrance that would make them question their own unbelief. What I love about this is this is not the only place that it is mentioned.

Turn to Titus chapter two verse 10 with me, please. It helps to know that in the new testament, all the t letters are compiled together. So you don't have to go too far from Timothy to Thessalonians or Titus. Titus is after. And look at verse 10 of Titus chapter two.

Not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our savior. What language to use? That they may adorn the doctrine of God our savior. Now, I want you to imagine for a moment that doctrine, teaching, theology, is a set of glittering, well crafted, shiny bracelets and necklaces and rings. Now, whether you display that in a museum or a high end jewelry store, or you stick it in some dark room in a box, the value doesn't change.

Right? It's the same value. It's just as beautiful. But the difference here is that, like doctrine, we can hide it or we can wear it. And the idea here is not that doctrine is made more beautiful because of our addition to it.

The idea is that we have the chance to beautify the doctrine by wearing it. And by wearing it, it's not by explaining it, it's by living it. It's amazing here that the adornment that Paul is speaking about concerning doctrine, the gospel, the truth, is not by the way you communicate it with your mouth. It's by way of demonstration in the most practical ways as possible. And you know the arena in which the Holy Spirit has in mind for you and I to adorn, to beautify, to wear the glories of the doctrine of God our savior?

Look at verse nine. Bond servants. Oh, would you know it? Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters and everything. They are to be well pleasing, not argumentative, and then he goes on to explain adorning the doctrine of God our savior.

Where? Where? Where does this take place? At the workplace. You're nine to five, punching in punching out, the factory, the doctor's office, the classroom.

So there's a unique opportunity here in the Holy Spirit's mind for something to be displayed of the truth And it's in the category of attitude, honesty, and reliability. Think about it. How do we think of being missional and adorning the doctrine of God? Thinking about so many ways that we can preach the gospel. Right?

That's part of it. But that's not the Holy Spirit's concern here. Attitude, reliability, integrity, honesty. For this to be said to believers tells me something about temptation for believers in the workplace. And that is what?

That they can mouth back, that they can bark when they're being barked at. That they can justify in their minds, well, you know, they don't care. This company is so big. They make so much money. I I don't have to punch in the right hours.

They won't mind. For them to be argumentative, for them to come in with a certain attitude that that doesn't bring joy, that doesn't that doesn't make people question why why do you have such a spirit, especially with everything that's going on. It proves that we have the temptation to be something else apart from management eyes, and when they're there to be something else. It tells me that we can make our employers question our reliability and our honesty instead of having the strongest confidence that we will get the job done, and that we will be a people of integrity in comparison to others. Consider this, after instructing God's people here in Titus two ten, look what he says in verse 11, for the grace of God has appeared, then he goes on to give a description of the gospel.

So what's the connection? How do you go from, so that everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our savior for the grace of God has appeared? Is he starting a new subject? You can argue that. But I believe he's making a case that there is no point in trying to proclaim a believable gospel if we don't first prove that it has transforming power.

Proclaim it all you want. The grace of God has appeared, but if you're not first adorning the doctrine of God our savior, you don't have you don't have much force in your presentation. And so we have to create a foundation for the gospel to even be presented and that foundation is very practical means of representing Christ. That's our basis. And the temptation might be, well, okay, if, if I work at a Christian institution though, an organization, I mean, that doesn't really apply to me.

And Paul says in verse two, first Timothy six, those who have believing masters, and everybody's like, okay, here it comes. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers. So if you work with other believers, if your employer is a born again Christian, these instructions still matter. Do you know why? Because the the call for us to to honor those above us is not limited, it's now enhanced.

It's not subtraction, it's added now. It actually should grow in our lives even more because it's possible that some of these slaves in Timothy's church, they were elders of that church or potential elders. And guess what? They had people who were their employers that were receiving from their leadership, but outside of the church, it was the roles were flipped. And that could be that could be a strange experience.

Or an older believer being told by a younger believer what to do and how to do things. So Paul says, I know there's a unique temptation when believers work together, so let me clarify this. And he does. Because unfortunately, you hear a lot of stories, live Christianity long enough, you hear a lot of examples that everything was fine between Christians until one thing, they started to work together. Especially when one Christian hires another.

Things get really messy when money gets involved in relationships. And so every time I hear believers are planning to partner in some project or start up some business together, I always cringe. I do. Because it requires a certain bandwidth of humility from both parties for any longevity to be possible in that kind of a partnership. And oftentimes what you have is one of those parties lacking that kind of humility, respect and communication where things begin to crash and burn, not for that business but between brothers.

But it's also possible and that's why he's writing these things. It is possible. But first, things need to be clarified because it's possible for employers, Christian employers, who have Christian employees to take advantage of them by burden them over what is realistic or underpaying them. Oh, you're a believer, you understand. That that happens.

But the temptation Paul has in mind here is that the employees would think because I have a Christian boss, now I can dial down my work ethic or I can expect special privileges because we go to the same church and we're both Christians. So this thought process can be, well, I can come in late a little bit. He won't mind. It's not gonna affect him that much. He'll understand.

Or it can be as extreme as, who does this guy think he is telling me what to do? Who does it We're believers here. We're equal in the sight of Christ. We're both spiritually equal, and you're gonna tell me that I have to do this and that. I'm not taking orders from you.

And what Paul is saying is that if you're a Christian working for another Christian, you should be his best employee. I'm I'm fully aware that you who might not be working will not find this attractive, but hold on to it. It'll be handy in the future. Your motivation should be harder, more honest, more respectful because of the spiritual bond that you share with that person. This is your brother in Christ, and you have the contribution now to bless his business, bless his home, bless his family as a fellow sibling adopted by the grace of God.

And that cannot happen until we truly believe that serving in a hardworking, practical, sweaty way is honoring to God. So even if you're a Christian, this may shock you right now, even if you're a Christian working in a Christian organization or serving a Christian boss and there's another Christian employee, this may startle you. You and that other Christian going off into the side and spending all your time talking about theology and commentaries and testimonies, while neglecting the emails and the phone calls and your responsibilities is not glorifying to God. Even if you're talking about God, even if you're crying about God, if you're not doing what you were hired to do, you're not glorifying God. And why is it hard for us to imagine?

Because again, this dichotomy, unless I'm doing this, it's not really sacred. God says, no. It actually is sacred. It actually is holy, and you have to erase that line. Because if you don't, you can miss out on not just glorifying God, but even blessing those around you.

And if this message speaks to you in your context of life and you're hearing it and perhaps it's correcting you or encouraging you or or encouraging you to remain where you are, and you wanna make the most of this opportunity and you're saying, then how do I do it? How do I ensure that this is not just some momentary encouraging, stirring word? There is a prescription. There is something that is required for you and I to make sure that in that time where you spend most of your hours during the week, will be in fact a holy series of sacred acts. And the one thing that you need, I believe I argue, is found in Colossians and that's our final text this morning.

In Colossians three verse 22. Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, here it is, fearing the Lord. Fearing the Lord. It's the fear of Lord that will cause you to be consistent with Christ like character When you're being watched and when you know that you can get away with things, you can you can trick your supervisor. It's the fear of the Lord that will cause you to speak differently when others are grumbling and complaining and murmuring about their company and about other employees.

It's the fear of the Lord that will cause you to be enthusiastic and grow in your skill and performance so that others will be blessed by your presence and by your partnership. It's the fear of the Lord that will motivate you to keep coming even though you don't appreciate a lot of the people that are in there. It's the fear of God. It's the fear of God that will help you see, I'm not ultimately serving this man who is maybe not the kindest of men, maybe not the most appreciative of men, but there is a master above my master. That's Jesus Christ.

You have a unique opportunity to adorn the doctrine in the way that the church cannot adorn the doctrine to other believers. You have a chance to beautify the gospel, and it will look like you and I requiring daily wisdom and motivation for opportunity and for the strength to just be a good employee. I forgot who said it, but a person asked, I believe it was Martin Luther, and don't quote me on that, but somebody asked him as a shoemaker, what do I need to do to glorify God as a shoemaker? And the idea was, you don't have to put a cross on every single shoe. Just make the best shoes that you can make.

Just make the best shoes that you can make. You fulfill the demands of those who are above you and you do it with a Christ like humility and enthusiasm and God will bless your efforts. And I love that Jesus was a carpenter himself because it reflects not just his earthly father, but his heavenly father who was a carpenter. You realize that God the father was a carpenter? How How do we know he was a carpenter?

How do we know he was a construction worker? How do we know that he was an interior designer? He made something called the tabernacle. And throughout the whole bible you can say that there are 50 chapters dedicated to the tabernacle. God cares.

His son comes into the world and I'm telling you those same hands that healed the sick had calluses on them. And I'm sure they were familiar with splinters and pieces of wood getting caught in them. God is not a lazy God. And when you see God calling men to service, I challenge you to read it, you'll often find them at work when he calls them. Elisha, pushing oxen, disciples, fishing, Amos, a tender of fig trees.

I challenge you to look in the scripture and try to find somebody that wasn't doing something or was in some kind of work before God called. Oh, different personalities, sure. Failure, sinners, absolutely. But they weren't lazy men. And so I charge those who have masters, I charge those who are bond servants in some context.

Be encouraged afresh that you have a mission field. And may this provide the motivation to soak your mission field in prayer. Say, God, give me the wisdom and the opportunity. Yes, to at times share the gospel, but more importantly, to demonstrate and adorn the doctrine from everything between my hands to my lips to my eyes to my time in and time out. May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you as you represent this church and more importantly, the kingdom of God.

Father, we thank you for the simple yet needed message for those who work, different kinds of work, but the same ultimate mission to bring glory to the name of God and the doctrine of our savior. And Lord, help us realize that at times that will be proven by speaking the truth, but more times than that, it will be about doing it right. And Lord, help us realize that although we may not have much opportunity to evangelize, the workplace's main priority is to honor God. It's to honor you, Lord, whether people get saved or not, we honor you. And so Lord, we just pray for those who work different jobs, for the temptations they might face.

Maybe like Potiphar, Potiphar's wife, being tempted in that place by somebody else to commit sin. Or maybe it's a circumstance, it's a season like the prison cell, where there seems to be no hope, no light, no opportunity. Lord, like Joseph, give us eyes to see and a heart to care. And Lord, for those who might be in a palace and have great responsibility, let not money and income overtake them, be pangs to them, and squash their ultimate call to glorify you. And so Lord, in this place, with this practical message, we just thank you for your wisdom and the reminder of the simplicity of the Christian life.

Lord, erase that dichotomy. Erase that line between the secular and sacred and help us realize it's all sacred. It's all sacred in the sight of God. Help us believe that as we drive to work tomorrow. Help us believe that as we're stuck in traffic.

Help us believe that as we've been stuck in our living rooms on computers, having meetings on Zoom. Help us believe that when we have to clean up people's mess. Help us believe that when we have difficult employees and employers. Help us believe it. We trust in you in this time and we worship you because you care about our workplace.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.