Address—Bill Brockmeier
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Let's open with #52.
Lord, we are lying like that passage in First Chronicles chapter 12, when David is, uh, in a stronghold and certain men of the private and Benjamin come to him, and the chief of the captains have a shot, Abashei says to him.
Thine are we David? I like that. Apply that to ourselves, we can say nine. Are we Lord Jesus? Let's sing 52.
Lordly are the.
He slaves us. Sin by thou rings.
Back to you and wish like you hear a swallowing him.
Lord of the Rings before I'm ready for rainforest.
Blessed and Savior, we thank you this afternoon that we can sing that we are vying. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for going into death, suffering for us there in those hours of infinite suffering, that pressure shed blood that cleanses from all sin For that present place of favor now, our God and Father, we stand before thee as sons. We thank thee, our God and Father, for the liberty Thou has brought us into.
That we might know thy thoughts, and share with thee thy love and thy delight, and thy beloved Son in our God and Father now as we.
Intend to open Thy precious word. We, uh, tremble as we do so, for it is Thy word. Grant our God that it might be spoken in faithfulness and in clarity. Grant that what should be said this afternoon will be said, and what should not be said will not be said. We seek thy help, Thy guidance for us, our God and Father. We do pray for each one. We pray for our younger brother in a particular way, younger ones in the workforce and in this world that thou's grant guidance, instruction from.
Precious Word, and for indeed we need it. We ask it now, our Father, committing thy word to thee for blessing and the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I'd ask you to turn first, please, to 1St Corinthians Chapter 7.
But before we read a few verses in the middle of this chapter, I'd like to make some general comments by way of an introductory, uh, sense.
I have a letter at home. I value it very greatly. It was written to my grandmother.
By a man by the name of JT Armand and my grandmother. She and her husband were inquiring as to the path of the truth as to the assembly, and the brother Armand had some correspondence with them. And in this one letter that comes to mind, he spoke of seven different authorities that the believer recognizes, 2 supreme authorities and five subordinate authorities. The two supreme authorities are God.
And Christ, you say, well, is not Christ God, Indeed He is. But we have God dwelling in His absolute essence, and then the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who became man. And we find in John chapter 5 that all judgment has been committed to the Son, And later on we find that all judgment has been committed to the Son, because he is the Son of man.
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All judgment, indeed all judgment, is being committed to the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus.
And so we find even whether it's the coming day of his appearing, when the Lord Jesus and those warrior judgments levels, all that share that defies him at this present hour are those times when he brings the nations before him and he judges as a judge sitting upon a throne or even at the great white throne. You know, on a King James version that says I saw the dead small and great stand before God. I wondered why is it say stand before God? Is not the Lord Jesus there and his character the Son of man and just?
Side it's interesting it says in the Darby translation stood before the throne and yes, it is the Son of man, the Lord Jesus himself that will sit on the throne supreme authorities, but there's five subordinate authorities. I want to take up one of them this afternoon, but we'll briefly mention them. The 1St is the government. Two things were to do for the government. No, not complaining criticized, but to pray and submit First Timothy two. I will that men.
Everywhere pray for those that are in authority, that we might live our lives in all godliness and honesty. We're to pray for the powers that be. The other thing we're to do?
Romans 13 were to submit to obey them that are over us. That's the government. There is the sphere of the assembly.
There's already vested in the assembly and again the assembly, the authority is vested in it. In a local setting, you could not have it in a universal way. It would just would not work out. Where does the assembly get its authority? When it makes an action? It is in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is a very sobering thing.
Very, uh, heavy to consider taking an action, failing men taking an action in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the assembly? Very serious. It's even more serious to resist an action taken in that name.
There's two authorities in the home. There is the husband in relationship to the wife. There are the parents in relationship to the children, fathers especially singled out for instruction. But there are two authorities there as well, subordinate authorities that were to honor and respect. The last one I'd like to mention. You say perhaps that's the least important of them all, but it's what I have before me this afternoon and that's the the thought of the employer and having.
Uh, recognized.
That subordinate authority in our life.
You know, sometimes we have a little disagreements at the dinner table and, and umm, we often hear this and I grew up here and it maybe you have to oh, you don't wanna be over the young people's head.
No, we don't wanna be, Paul said. I'd rather speak 5 words of my understanding than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue. Or in other words, I would rather speak 5 words than people understand what is being said than 10,000 words in eloquent tongue. And no one gets it.
But my greater concern often times is we do not wanna speak down to anybody because what I have this afternoon is not deep and it's not complex. It's rather straightforward. And you know, at the end of the meeting, it's nice that we can learn something, not just have an expectation of something that we already know. I recognize that.
But you know, there was something that, umm, came before me, uh, of light. I've, I've shared this with some over 25 years ago. There was an older couple in the assembly and, and, uh, the brother was really a career military man or connected with the military and his wife were not young when they married. They had no children. They're an older couple in the assembly and they were celebrating their 50th anniversary and they effectively had no family. So the brother and put a little meal together for them on Saturday afternoon.
As you said, they had no family with one exception. The the other brother had a sister who came to this get together and was a happy time. And the brothers spoke briefly. He said, umm, he said very little. I mean I can remember him giving him number six out and the breaking of bread frequently. Jesus, how much thy name unfolds. But other than that they were very quiet and as I say, they carried themselves in a quiet dignity.
So I walked them out to the car.
And the brother said, Billy, there was something I wanted to say to the dear young people this afternoon, but I didn't say it.
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And I said, what was it, Brother Walter, that you wanted to say to the dear young people?
And I'm getting prepared for a nice rich response, something along the lines of Barnabas saying to those in Antioch that the purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord.
But he said what I wanted to tell them is your boss is not in business to give you a job. Your boss is in business to make money. That's what I wanted to say to the dear young people.
I was a bit disappointed, but over the years I realized the brother had something there. And so this afternoon, what I would like to address and as we've witnessed things over the years.
We speak of a sphere of service. We pray for the work and the reasons beyond. We're thankful for that. We recognize the importance of a mother's care within the home, with a marvelous sphere of service, that is.
But to consider the workplace as a sphere of service for the Lord.
There is more in scripture, more in the New Testament than perhaps we assume that relates to this relationship. I'm speaking specifically of servants and masters, and perhaps in an ancillary way. Stewards are really managers that have the care of another's goods and responsible to hold it properly.
And so as we read through perhaps six different references in the epistles, I would just like to make some comments on them.
And I just lay it out in the spirit of some of these things have been a help to me. I simply would pass them on to you, especially those that are getting into the workplace that may be of help to you.
First Corinthians, Chapter 7.
Start with verse 20.
I'll let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Are thou called being a servant? Care not for it, but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called. And Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman. Likewise also he that is called being free, is Christ's servant. We are bought with a price. Be not E the servants of men. Brethren, let every man wherein he is called therein.
Abide with God.
As I say, I would like to take this thought up with respect to the workplace as a sphere of Christian ServiceNow. Some of you might be getting a little bit nervous as to where I'm going with that, so let me state a couple things up front. Your boss is not paying paying you to evangelize.
But I would say this, we need to take off our employment in everything that we do is unto the Lord, that there if there is opportunity to say a word that all the weight of our work stands behind it. This world does not want to hear a lazy employee exhort them about the Savior. I was just young at the time, barely 20 years of age worked.
At working, uh, at night and I will admit my lack of.
Faithfulness in the gospel was more out of fear than, uh, anything else. So I appreciated the remarks about Timothy of having the spirit of courage, not the spirit of fear.
We can look to the Lord to help us to overcome our national weakness. I worked with the man.
He looked a lot like the president at that time, Jimmy Carter. He'd come into the room and the, the the store and people would say here's the president that's here. He was a very nice man, a dynamic individual, really good worker. He was nothing but kind to me, helpful to me, Give me, give me things. He was, I love to work with this man. Never did I hear him say one off colored remark, but consistently I have if rarely have ever heard a man so blasphemous.
Taking God's name in vain.
Encouraging the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Time went buyers run by. I didn't work with them frequently, but I did and I just didn't have the liberty or I did not have the courage to say something to him. But time comes. I was moving on to a new opportunity. I cared for that Mandeep Linus. I've got I've got to in some way given to speak to the Lord.
Name is Sheldon. I'm 40 years old and I am, I suppose he's long dead now. Call him Shelly, I said. Shelly, I said, you've given me a lot over the last few years. I want to give something to you and I would like to give you this gospel track.
Tells of God's love in the way of salvation.
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Looked at me.
I'll take it. I'll take it from you, Bill. The only reason I'm going to take it for you from you is because you work. There was a woman I used to work with. She was preaching to me constantly. I have no use for that. I'll accept from you. Thank you. That's all that went. I just say that because there's an observation that the world has for you mention was made in the meetings about a man that went over to is in the military and came.
Never, never. I guess read the scriptures about on his knees and pray anything and people didn't know that he was the Lord. I will say this.
You may never have said anything to anyone about the Lord, but the world has a way of finding out the believers.
You may be hiding your light under the bushel, and all the time the world knows you're a believer.
You may think they don't, but they do. Many of them do.
And so I see that in the regard that the Lord will give us wisdom because we have a watching world here now First Corinthians 7, What's the point here? This chapter really has to do with marriage. It has to do with the unmarried state. It has to do with the marriage state. It has to do with a married one may be an unbeliever. It has to do with abandonment if one leaves to separated state. It has to do with widows.
But in the middle of this.
Chapter It speaks about let every man abide in the calling warnings we called with God.
Now I think I could speak for all of us here when I say we thank God.
For our brother who have given up much to serve the Lord, and sacrifice and labor and word and doctrine in the gospel, a great sacrifice to themselves. Thank God for you, brother.
So it hasn't called everyone to that.
Majority of us are gonna spend basically if we're in the full time workforce, 25 to 50% depending on the week of our time and our life in the workplace. So it's important that we hear what the word of God would give us instruction here are the slaves. There's nothing they could do. And in these verses, with the exception of when we come to when it comes to the word servant, it's really bond slave. They didn't have a say in where they were working.
But he said, don't be concerned about that, don't be concerned about it. You're the Lord's freeman. We sing a hymn, and bonds are perfect liberty. They weren't free to come and go as they will, but they could do the will of God from the heart where they were in their service. They could serve the Lord and look beyond the eye of their master. On the other hand, he says, if you may be made free, use it rather.
There might be an opportunity for a slave to be made free for use it rather. Thank God for the opportunity to move on. Use it rather.
I think some of my family might be tired of me using this expression, use it rather, but it's been very helpful in the sense of Christian liberty. Sometimes we come into discussions and say, well, with respect to technology and the abuse of it and so on, we use it rather.
Questions come opposition, especially in this day and age, about benefits and insurance and all the rest. Use it rather.
Delivery before the Lord about it. Let's not be overly consumed by these things. If God has granted a provision, use it rather. Now here's the freeman. You're not a freeman. You're the Lord's bondsman. There's no free agents in the work of God, in the service of God. We all have a Lord. We all have a master that we report to. And what is the ultimate overriding challenge and exercise for us? He says you're bought with a price.
Don't be the servants of men.
We sang it twice. We sang that him this morning, uh, by Christ redeemed the cost, his precious blood Lord, we are thine bought by thy blood. I recognize there's a difference between purchase and redemption. Change of ownership versus change of condition.
Redemption goes beyond purchase, but I would say this, when it comes to purchase, when it comes to being bought, there is an emphasis on the cost. That merchant man and went and sold all that he had to buy that Pearl of great price with a price that love has bought us. He said don't be the servants of men. We may be outwardly in the place of servitude to men, but our servitude is to the blessed Lord.
Be not the servants of men, rather than let every man where he's called therein abide with God.
Are you in work where you can abide with God? Don't, don't necessarily try to get out of it sometimes, or maybe those have been saved and they're in a situation to work that they say, I don't think I can honor my, uh, the Lord in the situation. They need, need to move on. So the point that we want to bring here is that we, whatever place the Lord has put us to abide with God. You see, yes, but it says a calling.
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Isn't that beautiful? Here's the poor slave who did nothing but born into the servitude. But God says it's a calling. This is what you've been called to do.
And as you're in that place, you serve the Lord. Now go on Ephesians chapter 6.
Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 5. Servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, and singleness of your heart is unto Christ, not with I service has been pleased as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good due willing services to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
Any masters do the same things under them, forbearing, threatening, knowing that your Master also is in heaven.
Neither is their respect of persons with him.
I mentioned this, the thought of bond slaves. It's interesting. There are 7 words in the New Testament that are translated servants and seven words that are translated master.
I appreciated what Brother Bill said this morning.
It's very interesting to get I like to use WE vines New Testament book of New Testament terms. Read the words you get a sense and you get a a depth and an understanding and appreciation for passages and scriptures that you might not have otherwise had. So I mentioned this is again, this is bond slaves, but here he says to be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh.
With fear and trembling. Remarkable, isn't it? With fear and trembling. Why would that be fear and trembling in the workplace? You know, Paul writes to the Philippian assembly. He says that they had a little, a little contention that sprung up there in an otherwise happy, wonderful little assembly there. And he said to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because Paul wasn't there.
In my absence and they had to work these things out and often our local assemblies we have to work things out.
And sometimes there's some rough sledding. We deal with fear and trembling.
And James says, and many things you all often offend, who of us is not offended with a tongue? I don't even like to think of how many times they've done that. So we're to do with fear and trembling. Paul, when he preached the Corinthians, he says, I was with you in fear and in much trembling. He recognized the gravity of what was at stake as he preached to them. But here we have fear and trembling in connection with the workplace.
Fisel Well, I'll give you suggest a few different areas and the first I would like to address is the matter of integrity and honesty and truthfulness.
For all that's said in the media and exposing this, uh, this chicanery and this scam and that fraud that the heart of man is, is the same. And the believer may be called upon in certain situations to compromise. Not like our brethren in foreign lands that are faced with physical violence, but there is and there may be in the workplace, real pressure brought to bear for you to fudge.
For you to go contrary to what you know is right before the eye of God with a wink and a nod from your boss.
We serve the Lord Christ.
There's three men, at least in the Old Testament that's spoken of is their integrity.
Once Himalak told God, he said I did this thing in the integrity of my heart, taking Abram's wife that he didn't touch. And God says I know that if you hadn't, you'd have been a dead man this morning.
He did it in integrity. I love the thought of Nathaniel there. And the Lord says, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile doesn't mean, in whom is no sin, but in whom is no dial. He wasn't a deceiver. He wasn't misleading, He wasn't deceptive Integrity. David said I will walk within mine house in the integrity of my heart. I think that's beautiful because we know there was a time when David did not walk.
And integrity before his heart.
And Joe, we know this is my integrity while I hold fast. He was a man of integrity called perfect by God himself. The problem with Job is he was proud about it. But integrity is so important, you compromise.
You lie, the world knows about it, and you just undermine your testimony for Christ.
We have the president of the company for some time. He's a very mad he's man. He's towered over everybody, you know, presence as they say and all the rest. Boss said I have got no use for him and his little fish on his lapel. I know the man and he went on to tell me some things about him. The world knows the little fish on his lapel did not, did not compensate for the things that he'd done. Fair and trembling integrity. Next thing is our word.
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Our word says in First Timothy 4 that were to be an example of the believers in Word, in conversation or conduct and charity and spirit and faith and purity. The world watches our words, what comes out of our mouth.
Uh, remember occasion one time and there was something that came up that angered me, frustrated me. And let me just say this too, feelings are not wrong.
I was impressed with the verses read this morning. We have such a high priest that cannot be touched with a feeling.
Of our infirmities. Perhaps you'd like to. I I operate in the realm of thought and of logic. I don't capitulate to mere feelings. But it says of Elijah, he was a man subject to like passions as we are feelings, we have feelings. And you don't leave your feelings at the door when you go to the workplace. All that said, it was something I spoke too vigorously on.
Wasn't I'm saying it wasn't blasphemous, but I I used a stronger expression. I remember what it was right now than I should have.
My boss comes out of his door with that Cheshire cat grin from ear to ear with a twinkle in his eye and said, I never thought I would hear that from you. I made his day. I looked at him.
But it is that was a reminder. This world is watching the words that come out of your mouth. Be careful with fear and trembling. The words that come out of our mouth mention one other thing and this is delicate slide. In the workplace, there are things despite all the HR rules and guidelines and all the rest, there are sometimes relationships that develop that are not appropriate.
I don't like to say too much, especially when everything gets.
Put out in the, uh, in the, uh, Internet nowadays, but.
I worked with the man and I worked with a woman. They were both married.
She's not bashful about the Lord versus on the Bible, uh, scripture verses in her in her workstation and all the rest and.
Uh, just is starting to bother me a little bit, but every time I was going back one of the conference rooms, the two of them are on the opposite side of the desk. I'm seeing this day in, day out, day in, day out. I understand we have to work with people. They didn't have to work that close together. And it bothered me. It bothered me a lot, especially it bothered me when I heard the man who I didn't know that was the Lord talking pretty rough to his wife on the phone. So well, the nice if you could speak to her the same way that he spoke to this woman there at work.
I would say this matter ultimately got it resolved thankfully.
But you know, once again, the world watches and the world comments. They may not comment to you, but they will comment behind your back. They observe and pick these things up. We have to be careful. And he that trusted his own heart is a fool. You've heard that before, but you haven't heard it as often as I did from my father. He that trusts of his own heart as a fool. Because the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord.
You're gonna trust what's desperately wicked and is deceitful.
Perhaps not one other area, and that is on those occasions. There are times.
When we need to speak, speak a word from the Lord.
When I think of this verse of fear and trembling, I think of one incident in particular.
This again, this goes back to, you know, 2-3 decades where we were on the cutting edge of technology. We come up with this audit department and this new machine, fangled machine that we're gonna, you know, we're gonna report in real time data and all the rest. And, and umm, anyway, it was being used as I against that against the team I was managing.
And I was bubbling this information back to Boston. This isn't right. I don't care how, what the, what the, the advancement in technology is, it's no garbage in, garbage out. So it's OK, we'll document it. And, and you just feed that information to me. So I fed the information to him. And, uh, so he said, well, one day he came and he says, well, you got a meeting with so and so one of the new high, you know, one of the hired guns that he comes into executive management level, they take big money to bring from someone else who's heading up this department. And he said, are you gonna go have a meeting with him?
Oh, I said you're going to come along and says no.
Always have your people's back when you're a boss. But anyway, so we went up there. I'm, I'm, I'm pretty nervous. I'm, I'm just young. Family is young. I don't, I don't wanna, I don't get sideways with this new, with this new, uh, executive. And these are the auditing, which is one person, my former boss, a woman who is a Mormon.
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So we got, we got into it. He stated his piece, I stated my piece. He starts ratcheting up the pressure.
He says at one point, because I wasn't budging, he says, look, he swore and he said even Jesus Christ sinned.
We finished the conversation up and even my former boss turned white as a sheep.
Versus that we had before us about denying the Lord yesterday came with real power to me. Like the Lord said, if you leave this room without saying something about what was just said, you're gonna deny me.
I said, well, I said no. I said I think I agree with everything that's been said except one thing.
I looked at demand. I said Jesus Christ never sinned.
He blubbered and he sputtered and said something unintelligible.
I walked out.
I thank God if there's anything I've ever done for the Lord, I believe it was that cannot deny our Lord, but it was with fear and trembling. There are things that we cannot let go, or else we will be denying our Lord.
With fear and trembling also takes up about masters.
You know.
Some of us or some of you own your own business and, and, uh, that's, that's, it has to be a unique challenge. Sometimes we've been in the place of being middle managers, but when you're in an owner or an ownership or a management role, there is a real responsibility connected with that.
And there's one thing that we're not to do. It says here forbearing, threatening. The Darby says giving up threatening, not just moderating it as we have in the in the King James. Giving up threatening, you say it's a mighty convenient tool. It's not a tool, it's a weapon and we're not to use it.
And I see these things right now because I've looked back and I've had, umm, had some marvelous bosses.
And some horrible ones.
Some may have been the Lord's others not. Just because you're a believer does not make you a good manager, does not make you a good boss. My brother the other day for lunch, we were talking about this. We're, we're, uh, actually we're a little visit one evening. And you know, I said, there's something that's really struck me of late. And you remember Nam and the Syrian, the chief captain there, he was Syrian, he wasn't Israelite, right? And.
As he went there to Elijah to, uh, be healed of his leprosy.
And Umm, Elijah has served and go sell, go washing the Jordan 7 times and and they haven't loses it. He's enraged at this insult to a man of his stature. But what I find most instructive in that passage his service.
Said we, we, we can't let him go back down without being healed. And so they went and then treated him as a father and they said my father, if you would have been to do some great thing once that not have done how much rather when he said wash should be clean.
He listened to his servants. There must have been something care they had for him, and there must have been some reason they wanted to see their master clean. And he listened and he got the blessing. He was a Syrian.
We know later on he embraced the God of Israel, but he was a Syrian. For our purposes this afternoon, it was an unbeliever. Now there's another man, not Naaman, but Navel.
You remember Nabal, he's the one that when David is on the, on the run from Saul and, and David and his men protected Nabel's men from harm and danger. And they said these like, uh, it was at the like the surroundings with fire and they protect us there. There's no harm. They'll look after us. Naval said. Who then is David, who's the son of Jesse? He had no regard to David and David was, David was on the warpath.
What was the reaction or the response of naval servants?
To this man who was of the tribe of Judah, who was a Calibite, the descendant, I take it directly from Caleb. Good heritage, huh?
They said.
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So talk to Abigail. Why, they said of Navally as such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak unto him. I'm not wasting my breath. He'll enable about anything, even if his life is on the line, because you can't say anything to him.
What a horrible position to be in a man that was a calibite of the tribe of Jude and his servants that don't even save your breath because he won't listen to you. Is that the character a Christian can have in the workplace? Save your breath. It's troubling when I see maybe I've had my own part in and I'm sure I've had Christians, brethren, believers that love the Savior that cannot take correction.
You're not right on everything.
Some point you're wrong. Hide the defensiveness and we carry that into the assembly. Sometimes, well, I find these masters here, the character of threatening. That's not what God has put us in place. Well, the servants, to be fair and trembling, go to Colossians 3.
Colossians 3.
Verse 22 Serve and sobe in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with ice services, menplezers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And what serve you do, do it heartily to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord you shall recur, receive the reward of the inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ, but he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done. And there is no respect of persons masters given to your servants out which is just an equal, knowing that He also have a master in heaven.
He said, well that sounds very similar to Ephesians, and indeed it is similar to Ephesians, but there are a couple of differences I'd like to point out.
You notice back in verse.
17 It says in a more general sense, whatever you do in Word or do, you do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God and the Father by him. And here we have in verse, uh, 22 That was uh, that were to do and singleness of heart fearing God.
Obeying all things. I like the little story of the, uh, brother. He went to an older brother and said, uh, do you think we should encourage the young people to do something for the Lord?
The older brothers didn't know.
I believe we should encourage them to do everything for the Lord. That's Colossians 3.
He opened the door of the office. You leave the door of the house. Whether you're in the field or in the factory, or on the road or in the home, whatever the sphere might be, we're there to do. What we do is unto the Lord, and we're to do it heartily.
References made this morning to the proverbs. References made to the end. I grew up with a steady diet of proverbs, Proverbs, proverbs, proverbs every morning, proverbs at some of it. You know what? There's other parts of the scripture. You know the proverbs.
And we did read different, different places in the evening and, and we've kind of followed that same tack ourselves, though, you know, the progress. It's interesting. You can get these different characters, the 26 chapters, very interesting, all these different characters that are brought in. But you can trace out a line of things. And one of the lines is the slothful. You know, he even is slothful in his work, his brother to him that is a great waster.
If what I am doing, I'm doing it hardly unto the Lord. I'm not gonna be slothful. I'm not gonna be a sluggard. I'm not gonna be lazy. I'm not gonna be in the LE. I'm going to be a productive, energetic worker.
Who can tell me where that verse is cursed should be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently. I see you're quoting Darby. Yes, it's deceitfully in the King James. Curse should be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently. And in our context this afternoon, the work of the Lord is everything that we do. Well, I will say this Jeremiah 48. I had to look it up, but what I was intrigued about is it came right to another verse. I was thinking about Moab.
Remember Moab? It was a son of Lot, but the descendants what characterized Moab says in Jeremiah 48 he has been at ease.
From his youth, he's not been emptied from vessel to vessel. Therefore a scent remains in him. In other words, the sediment of the wine soaked out without being emptied from vessel to vessel. The Sten should just become stronger. His scent remained in him. Lord puts us through trials. That is less than what we are naturally in crisis worked into us. But the point is about Moab. There he's been at ease from his youth. It's the picture of slothfulness and laziness.
And proverbs condemned slothfulness and know uh UN uncertain terms.
We need to speak heartily unto unto the Lord, knowing that of the Lord, you shall retrieve the reward of the inheritance. You know, I just mentioned this is a side because we are humans and I do find and it it it's it's frightened me because we are vulnerable to the same things that those in the world are of. Sometimes you may have an employer of boss that does you wrong. Sometimes there's things that work against you and we don't need to spin it and try to say it's it's understandable. Wrong is wrong. We don't want to be defending the.
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Sensible but these things do happen but the danger that we can fall into one of the things we can fall into is if something wrong happens is we develop a poor me attitude self pity self pity is disastrous because it brings us down OK well even the score of them but I will not work as hard I will not work as diligently as I should back off a little bit you want to play ball that way then we'll fine we'll play ball that way very dangerous to get the spirit of self pity seeing it where those that are backed off and then you get into situations where they've.
Perhaps not handle things as properly and upright as they should. It's not a good thing. We want to always keep our eye on the Lord and do heartily into the Lord even if the masters have done us wrong. Notice chapter 4, verse one. In other words, masters given to your servants, what is just and equal or just and fair. A lot of comments today made about being fair. Well, for the Christian master, that is what the desire is to be.
That we are fair. It's not like husbands love your wives. It's not that we're to love our employees, but we are to be fair with them and do what's right before God in that context.
What is just and equal, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.
Ephesians 6 I believe the point is that their MA the the master, both theirs and yours. Now we have the same master. And so important these things are because you just can't flip the switch. You and I can't flip the switch from being godly and honorable in the home or in the assembly and not on the job doesn't work that way.
So we find these instructions within the within the within the workplace. Go over to first Timothy now chapter one. I wanna move along here.
Led as many servants, chapter 6, Verse one. Let as many servants as are under the yoke, count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. Like to read that second verse in the Darby translation.
It says, but let them the rather serve them with subjection because they are faithful and beloved who profit by the good and ready service rendered servants who are under the yoke. All you say, I thought were not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. I knew a brother and umm, it was his position. Don't agree with it. I'll leave it scripture, but that was his conviction before the Lord. He believed that working for someone wasn't unequal yoke, but they were.
Sure, I don't see that how these servants bonds lays that unbelieving masters. How that would be considered a yoke or under the yoke, not in a yoke.
Thank you. Old Italian property that has a partner, has a master. You go into an unequal yoke with an unbeliever. There's only one way you can go and that's down. Despite the strategic wisdom of these out of these decisions, at least in an outward way. Talk about servants that are under the yoke and it says Lamentations Chapter 3 that it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Two things on that. The first thing is we need to learn when we're young to be able to take.
Orders and instructions. We're not calling the shots, we're following through on what we're instructed to do. Also, a yoke is not generally just one. You work with others ability to work together.
You know, I've sometimes thought of this. Why does it say in, uh, about the, uh, the, uh, the elders and their wives, if they've brought up children and say a child, this is children. And I thought it's this way is because they know how to need to have some experience in handling disputes within the home.
But that's in the side. At any rate, he says that we count them worthy of all honor, respect.
I don't need to tell you the disrespect that there is to authority and that extends even in the workplace, for the word of God tells us that the masters to become worthy of all honor.
In chapter, the prior chapter speaks about those elders that O overseers that rule well. They're to be counted worthy of double honor. Honor because of their age.
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Double honor because the way they carry out their responsibilities here, the employers to be treated with all honor. Why?
That the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. If we do not treat those that are over us in the workplace with honor, all honor, it will reflect badly on the name of our God. It will reflect badly on the teaching of the Word of God. So that's what your Bible reads like, huh? No.
We need to bear in mind a report ex directly on the name of God, Hawker, right? The Jews there in Romans two or three, who I guess it is that the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, because they're ways who got blamed for their ways. God did. But then it's just about believing masters. And this is another delicate matter. Sometimes you're working for a brother in Christ.
Well, this is, this is excellent because they'll cut you some slack. They will be more understanding and they will appreciate, uh, uh, some of the challenges you, you have.
Well, there's a danger that we despise them, but it says, but rather do them service. And again, as a who profit the faithful and beloved, who profit by the good and ready service rendered.
Well, if I have a Christian employer or a boss, it is just one additional reason to work harder because of my good and ready service. It's good to Titus. Chapter one, please.
Again, one of my.
Desires is not to get in the way of what the scripture says, to let it stand, let it speak for itself and be exercised by and as I was, as I was struggling through this, is this really a topic that would be appropriate? What is the word of God? And uh, it is appropriate, but as I just read the scriptures themselves, I was convicted.
In reading some of these scriptures, let the word of God just search this out. Titus chapter one and verse 9 Exhort servants to be obedient.
Onto their own masters and to please them well in all things, not answering again, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Once again, the importance of being obedient to our masters, to please them well in all things. All you say, I thought we just read, were not to be man pleasers. I'm a God pleaser, not a man pleaser, but it says here to please them well in all things or to make ourselves acceptable to them.
We can't control their reaction and response, but we need all to do that we can to make ourselves an acceptable servant. I'm not talking again about compromise. We've already gone down that path. But to do what we can to to be a good employee for their benefit. Not answering again.
Back talk.
Has no place in the home. Has no place for the Christian in the workplace.
That's not high truth, but how many of us have failed in it not answering? Again, that's not showing all honor to the boss. I'm not talking either about having a reasoned conversation. I'm thankful for bossing to sit down and have an honest disagreement. What happened to the day of having an honest disagreement?
And talking through it and working through it, but not the spirit of backtalk not prolonging what's that that's appropriating your master's good and using it for yourself. In First Corinthians 4:00 we we read that in stewards it is required that amount be found faithful. Oh, you say the references there is into the mysteries of reference to the mysteries of God. We need to be faithful in the mysteries of God and that spiritual heritage that we have.
Verses quoted this morning or yesterday. It was this morning that he that is faithful and little doubt, which is another man's.
We're to be faithful and little before we're faithful and much we're to be faithful in these small matters, but here to not prolong, not to appropriate.
What is our masters for our own benefit? Call it stealing if you will.
But showing all good fidelity. One of the thing about stealing, you know, I, I, I don't wanna bring everybody down with these marvelous meetings that we've had and just drag things in from the world. But we're in the world, you know, these things. And how do we face some of these challenges?
Challenge we've had the company just clamping down because, you know, the productivity of the American workers just shooting up and up and up. I haven't heard that lately, but I know that's not the challenge we're faced with is what is with Netflix and people using social media on the boss's time. That's stealing from your boss, especially if you're on the clock. You're not paying you to watch movies.
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Uh, and, and the companies had to clamp down and you think people would learn, but no, people are losing their job, stealing from the company, purloining, but showing all good fidelity. What's that? That's loyalty.
He said, well, I don't believe in blind loyalty, no, but we need to be loyal, loyal to the person, company that gives us our paycheck. Have you ever thought there in First Corinthians or Galatians, 5I should say the fruit of the Spirit, Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering and so on. And then we'll fly right past that little word faith. Faith. That's how faith and God, let's force that word faith.
Or fidelity, our faithfulness or loyalty as part of the fruit of the Spirit.
Isn't it refreshing to see someone that's loyal, someone that says I'm standing with, well, there's wonderful in marriage.
What's in the workplace, wherever it is to see someone that is loyal and that's what we have here and why that we might adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
We won't want the world to say, would we? Well, if that's Christianity, the way you conduct your business, I want no part of it.
Were to adorn the doctrine. It isn't the doctrine, but our manner of life and again whatever spirit is we just singled out this one area of the workplace this afternoon. Wouldn't it be nice that the way we carry out our affairs of life and and and in the workplace that it adorns the doctrine that it makes it attractive. See I like that I want that.
One final verse in first Peter.
Chapter 2.
Verse 18. We'll read verse 17 as well. Modern All men love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the forward or to the ill tempered.
So we see there is that honored all men. Those are authority so on, but here in servants be subject to your masters with all fear.
That this really is a state and sometimes the verse has to do with displaying that attitude and the occasion arises other it has to do with the state. But here were to be sub submit ourselves, or rather umm be subject to our masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the forward. This is extremely difficult. We've had a few comments about.
The Christians behavior in a managerial role or an ownership role?
But sometimes we are faced with a situation like this where we're faced with the scripture says unreasonable men and the ill tempered and how we need to seek real grace from the Lord that we, that we're subject to that one. They, they need the Savior. And sometimes we see those that are virtually out of control, but we're too, too, uh, to be subject to them, even if they're all tempered.
Now it says in verse 15.
It's a relationship with the government. But the point is this, for so is the will of God, that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
No, there are there are times.
That.
You may face the opposition of this world, uh, they because you belong to Christ, not because you're a bad employee, not because you've had a bad attitude, but because they hate Christ. And these things are very challenging as well that there is, there may be a reproach.
And so how important it is for us to accept that as, as, uh, as, as, as honoring our Lord in that situation.
I worked with a young man.
It's not young man anymore, but umm, he always had very capable, very capable and, and what he did, but he always had a joke corny send something and uh, there are some, there are some opportunities, there's some promotions to be had and he was certainly qualified in certain areas and.
Now the man that had the decision, I didn't deal with much, but he wanted to share something with me just by the way.
He said, well, I called him in my office.
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So you're not getting the job because you're the company clown?
Man's a believer. That's not the testimony to have. It's nice to have a sense of humor. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves. We need to go with the flow at times and enjoy it. But we're already here to spend the time of our sojourning here in fear not to be a jokester, not to be, uh, one that's constant, uh, Lee, trying to find the, the joke in the situation or the levity. We have a, we have a responsibility to serve Christ.
In the workplace.
And so I do recognize that what we brought before us this afternoon, as I say, it's not deep and it's not complicated, but I am convicted that it is critically important in our testimony for the Lord.
Well, may the Lord give us grace to act for Him where we are and umm, you know, when we make mistakes or when we fail, you'll find even with the world, an apology and acknowledgement that I've done wrong is generally received very well and can often open an opportunity. Let's say #13 in closing.
And I recognize that scripturally we don't have the expression child of God. It's consistently the collective children of God that without the recognition, it's still a nice him. Let's sing 13.
Child of God by.
Sourcing and fear and fear and curve. Joy to find in every day.
13 in the appendix.
They must be red wounds and red mirror today. Today's white covers white.
Breaks last year the dying to win the windy.
Glory.
Oh, now turn into your black women.
They couldn't find anywhere to run it.
God and our Father, we thank you for Thy word. Thank you for the instruction that gives us in our very fastest of life. Help us serve God, not to explain away, but to receive Thy word and seek to walk in the good of it and instruction of it, that we might bear testimony for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the one who loved us, who gave himself for us. Now bless the Lord, we desire to live for Thee. Help us in these things and that precious name we pray, Amen.