Pauls Epistle to Colossians (21)

Today is the 22nd

Lord's Day, addressing not only the text, but the implications of the text of Colossians, and actually this is the 3rd

Lord's Day that we're dealing with this paragraph of Colossians 3 .18, and continues through verse 1 of chapter 4.

And today, Lord willing, we'll be looking at some extended passages of Scripture, probably more so than we normally do, and so we trust that you have your

Bibles ready as we will be turning to these passages throughout.

Now again, this paragraph contains practical instruction for the

Christian within his relationships, relationships within his family, but also his relationship in the workplace.

Paul gives instruction about masters and their slaves, and that was, of course, a very familiar institution in the

Roman world of the first century. And so we have instruction here, as we saw last week, as to how, as Christians, we should behave and understand the workplace and how we relate to our employers.

And so here we have clear teaching for us, clear teaching in that it is set forth quite clearly, and yet it reveals to us just how wavered our society has become.

We have, although our society at one time was perhaps characterized by the principles set forth here, our society has departed from those principles, it would seem, at least in the last generation.

We have forsaken the standards that God has established for His creation. We have abandoned the commandments by which

God governs His world and will one day judge His world through Jesus Christ. Instruction before us in this paragraph reflects a

Christian worldview, one, again, which is no longer, I would argue, the norm of Western society.

But even we who profess to be Christians find that we have transgressed God's laws, violated

His principles, respecting these matters. And yet we know that believing the

Word of God and conforming our lives, our thinking in ways to the Word of God, is a way of blessing within God's world.

This is a way to experience and enjoy life in the fullest way possible, even life in abundance, as the

Lord Jesus promised. We realize, however, that the ways of God that are set forth in Scripture are not natural to a fallen man.

Due to man's sin, his conception of what is right, his conception of what is best, of what will bring benefit to him, has become distorted and perverted.

And so what seems to be natural, reasonable, and right to a sinful man is often contrary to the ways of God.

And, therefore, what seems to be natural to a fallen man are actually detrimental to his well -being and for those around him.

As the wise man once wrote, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

He thinks it's the right way, but it's not. Just the opposite. Proverbs 16 .25

But people tend to be clueless that the way they are living will lead to their ruin. The way of the wicked is like darkness.

They do not know what makes them stumble. They think that they are ordering their lives according to a way that will bring most happiness to them.

They are sadly mistaken. The way is really darkness to them. They don't see the end.

But, in contrast to the one who lives in conflict with God's word, the one who is humble before the

Lord, who is taught by the word of God, who acknowledges his own ignorance and his need for the

Lord's instruction, he will be blessed in his way. Proverbs 10 .17

He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray.

Proverbs 10 .17 And similar to this statement, but in reverse order we read, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.

And so, as Christians, we should be humble and aware that if we follow our natural impulses, governed by sin that dwells within us, it's not going to be pretty.

And so, we acknowledge our ignorance. We acknowledge our errant thinking. And we desire the

Lord to conform our thinking and our ways to the word of God. And there's a wisdom in it.

We don't often see it first. But when we accept it in faith, it's the word of God, and we seek the grace of God to conform our thinking and life to that word, then we begin to see the practical wisdom of it as it's played out.

Really the need for correction and instruction in the will of God undergirds the whole of scripture. We, of course, are to live according to the will of God.

And the subject of wisdom that is frequently set forth in the scriptures describes the one who knows the will of God.

That is who a wise man is, a wise woman. And so it's the wise man or woman who sees the world from God's perspective and interprets what happens in his life from God's perspective.

That is the wise man. The scriptures also speak of understanding, oftentimes coupled with the idea of wisdom.

And if there is a distinction—some believe that they are synonymous—but if there is a distinction, then wisdom would describe a person's ability to see the world in his life as God sees it.

But understanding would be the practical application, well, this is how you live it out, therefore. And so there's a need for both wisdom and understanding.

There's a need to understand yourself and the world from God's perspective, but then there is a need to apply that word in life.

This underscores the nature of wisdom literature, a whole classification genre of literature that we find in the

Bible. And there are wisdom poems, there are wisdom psalms,

Ecclesiastes is a book of wisdom, there are sections of books in the Old Testament. The book of James has been argued in the

New Testament to be classified as wisdom literature in a way. But, of course, the book of Proverbs perhaps embodies the idea of wisdom literature.

And the writer of Proverbs, King Solomon, he urged his son to consider the importance of wisdom and understanding.

We read of that in Proverbs 3, 13 -24, it's toward the beginning of the book.

He's laying the cakes for his son to be attentive, to be instructed, and to apply what he was saying.

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, I'm in Proverbs 3 .13, happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.

There you have the two words, wisdom and understanding. Some would argue that's synonymous, one line stating the same truth in different words.

Others would argue, no, it's not synonymous, but rather synthetic, one gives a different additional word.

For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She's more precious than rubies.

All the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Think about that, if you had a pocket full of rubies, you'd think you'd have great wealth.

If you were wise before God, you'd have greater wealth, is what he's saying. Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her.

Happy are all who retain her. Wisdom, understanding. Then he describes the nature of wisdom.

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth. By understanding he established the heavens.

See that would be a good argument for synonymous there. By his knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds dropped down the dew.

My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul, grace to your neck, and then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.

Here we read of the benefits and blessings that God brings upon the one who has wisdom and applies that wisdom in his understanding of how to live in God's world.

There's God's blessing on this one who lives according to God's word. On the other hand, there is

God's curse on the one who disregards God's word and who lives according to his own thinking and his own will.

And so we need to apply these words of instruction. Let's read our passage again in Colossians 3 beginning with verse 18.

Wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people -pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the

Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the

Lord, and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.

You are serving the Lord Christ, for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.

Short, clear, direct commands that Paul gives to the

Christians in this church at Colossae. We have already considered the details of the instruction here.

God has established an order in his world. He has instituted the family, and he has established an order in which he will bless that family.

And he is not only the Lord over the marriage relationship, but he is the Lord over the workplace also, we can say by principle.

He has established an order in which he will bless the man or woman in the workplace. And of course the workplace often times takes a large portion of our lives, doesn't it?

And so it would do us well to know how God would have us live within the workplace.

One of the main principles set forth here is that the Christian is to regard his work as unto the Lord. In other words, even though he may labor in a secular firm, if that work is legal and righteous, then that Christian is to regard himself as having the

Lord as his supervisor, the Lord as his employer in that employment. And that is quite transforming, if you come to see that and live accordingly.

Knowing this and laboring with this knowledge should infuse value and significance, and I would say enjoyment, in your labor.

Now, as we pointed out last Lord's Day, this Christian understanding of labor has been preeminent in Western civilization since the early days of the

Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the 1500s. This worldview became known as the

Protestant Work Ethic. We touched on it last week, it was in your notes if you read up on it a little bit. This Protestant Work Ethic has been attributed as foundational to Western society and as the cause of society's great economic and social advancement in the last five centuries.

Actually that was set forth by quite a noted economist, he wasn't right in all of his assessments, but overall he nailed it,

Max Weber, in the early 20th century. I think I've referenced it in a footnote, the book that he wrote, a secular book.

But he's the one that brought forward, hey, we owe all this to the

Reformers, particularly Calvin. Martin Luther, then later even more so John Calvin, called

Christians back to a biblical worldview regarding the Christian in the world. Whereas in the

Middle Ages, Roman Catholic doctrine had declared that a Christian was most devout in pleasing to God by being celibate, single, and monastic.

In other words, being isolated from the world. The Reformers taught, rightly, that the biblical most blessed state is that of the married life.

Although we acknowledge there's a giftedness in being single, particularly in the service of the

Lord, but there's a blessedness in the married life as well as in Christian service in one's calling or vocation, and that's what vocation means, in one's secular work.

And so all legitimate work for the Christian is Christian ministry unto the

Lord in this world. And that's been lost, sadly, even by many

Christians. One of the characteristics of postmodern society is we've tended to compartmentalize aspects of life.

On Sunday morning, we're in church, we put on our Christian hats, we talk Christian language, think Christian things.

Tomorrow morning, we get up and put on our work hat, go into the workplace, and there's a different set of principles many times.

And we move into these different worlds, depending on where we are. It shouldn't be that way. We should be a

Christian everywhere we are, and in the workplace too. As again, we mentioned

Abraham Kuyper, there is no place in this world, in this life, that the

Lord doesn't say, that is mine. And we need to understand this and acknowledge this as Christians.

And so all legitimate work for the Christian is Christian ministry unto the Lord. And this is what our text declares very clearly, isn't it?

And there will be a day when the Lord will compensate the Christian even for the secular labor or service that he rendered in this life.

As the scripture declares, whatever you do, work hardly, as for the Lord, not for men. Why? Knowing that from the

Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You think when you get that paycheck, that's the sum of all your compensation for your labor?

No, you're working for the Lord. And there's going to be a payday when he is going to reward faithful stewardship.

Now I would like us to consider more fully and more carefully how we regard our labor, and particularly our relationship to our supervisor or employer.

For although it's not difficult to understand these principles that we've already rehearsed and described, the application doesn't always come that easy, does it?

You know, we might have the wisdom, but Lord, give us understanding. Help us know how to see these things played out.

It takes both knowledge of God's word, wisdom, as well as the grace of the Lord to empower

His people so that they might apply this wisdom in their lives, understanding. And so I want to cite a few biblical principles today.

There's nothing profound here. I hope it's nothing new to you. I hope these things are familiar to us, and that it's just reinforcing.

But I'd like to consider several biblical principles that should govern our dealings with authority over us, and this is applicable whether it be within the family or within the workplace.

And so let me cite several that are given first. Our labor in the workplace is to serve the supervisor or employer that the

Lord has placed over us. That's simple. You know, it's not just putting in my time to get my check and I'm on my way, but we have a true intention and desire to serve the one whom the

Lord has placed over us. Our Lord Jesus taught and demonstrated the nature of Christian service.

He declared to His disciples, there was also a dispute among the disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

The verb form is quite interesting there. They're not arguing, I'm the greatest, and although we're saying, no, no,

I'm the greatest, they're arguing, no, the people think I'm the greatest. No, the people think I'm the greatest. This is crass ignorance and selfishness, because this is right before the

Lord was betrayed, and they're arguing which of one of them is regarded as the best and the greatest.

And the Lord rebuked them, rightly so. He said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors.

There is sarcasm, if you ever have seen it, irony. They call themselves benefactors, we're the servants of the people, and yet in reality they want authority, to control.

Not so among you, He tells His apostles. On the contrary, who is greatest among you, let him be as your younger.

He who governs, let as he who serves. See there's the role of authority for the

Christian, it's an opportunity and responsibility to serve others with authority that you've given.

For who is greater, he who sits at the table or he who serves? Obviously the one who sits at the table in the world's view is greater.

And yet, Jesus says, is it not he who sits at the table, and yet I am among you as one who serves.

And of course he's the greatest of all, and yet he serves. And so here we read of our

Lord Jesus teaching His apostles that the ways of His people and His kingdom are distinctly different than the ways of the world.

The Gentiles, and what is meant by that term in this context is unbelievers, non -disciples, live in a world in which everybody is, oh yes, they have a pretension that they are benefactors of others, but in actuality they are concerned for themselves.

They want authority so that they control others, telling them how they are to live. And this is the view of authority of fallen man.

This is the fallen world's view of authority. I'm in a position of power and I can dictate to others how

I think they ought to live. Actually the fallen world views authority as conferring at least two privileges.

It's assumed that with a position of authority one has the right to control or dominate those under his authority.

Think husband, think father, it's played out commonly, isn't it? But this is contrary to God's law.

When people get into a position of power and if they're governed by sinful nature, they'll tend to dominate others.

Perhaps they've been under someone else's thumb and this is now their turn. They've got others under their thumb.

I saw this graphically displayed among the German people, a people who are very conscious of human authority.

They think differently than we do, believe me. I spoke with a local government bureaucrat in the town in which we lived for four years in the 90s in Sternberg, Germany, and he told me with a measure of disgust in his voice how controlling all of German society was toward its citizens.

And he talked about how every petty person in power makes your life miserable. There are rules and regulations that are imposed on the

German people that address every aspect of life. The Swiss are worse, by the way.

We think of free Switzerland, and they are, but you talk about a controlling culture.

We had friends in our church, Philip Chan and Judy Chan. Judy was from Seattle, Philip was

Chinese from Hong Kong, grew up in Toronto, and was working in Germany. And they moved from Munich over to Zug, Switzerland, outside of Zurich.

And they had to petition the city fathers in order to get permission and also instruction on what kind of flowers to plant in their planter that was on their balcony.

They told a story of a Swiss woman living in another town who came and visited her daughter who lived in a neighboring town.

She happened to pick up her mail just before she left her home to come to the neighboring town, and she sorted through her mail and threw away all the trash and all of the flyers and whatnot, knock on the door at her house.

What are you doing unlawfully disposing of your garbage in another town?

Somebody went through the garbage and found her address on flyers, and they looked her up.

I mean, this is other parts of the world. And Germany was this way as well.

I learned this firsthand. I've told this story in the past. It was my first winter there in 1994.

It was snowing quite terribly. I went out, hopped in the car, warmed it up, and was looking at my map book to determine where I had to go.

Probably after a minute and a half, knock on the window, on my driver's side window. I look out.

It's snowing. There's about two feet of snow on the ground. And it was a man, my neighbor from across the street.

He got out of his house in the snow, walked across the street, knocked on the window, and he started talking at me in German.

You know, and I didn't know much at the time, still don't, but, you know, Ich wüsste nicht, you know.

Sprechen die Deutsch, or sprechen die English, you know, ich bin ein dumm kopfamerikaner. And all of a sudden, he spoke in very, you know, plain

English. You know, turn off your engine. We don't do that here. I said, what do you mean?

He says, because the government of Germany did a study, and you can warm up your car in 22 seconds, and any more than that is wasting energy and polluting the air.

Turn off your engine. I mean, that's life in another world. I mean, controlling.

And this is just how the people are sometimes in other lands. Well, actually,

I was speaking to this German man who is a little bureaucrat in our hometown at the local city hall.

Interestingly, it's called a Rathaus in Germany. That's the city hall,

Rathaus. And it's spelled R -A -T -H -A -U -S,

Rathaus. Interesting. But anyway, this fellow was lamenting just how controlling the

German people were. And yet, he was in this minor position of authority, and now he said, now it's my turn.

And he used his authority to make other people miserable. And that is the attitude sometimes of people in the world when it's fully manifest.

They see their position of authority as having the right to control others and being served by others.

And that's what we have here, a second assumption. That the fallen world has a view of one in authority that by virtue of his position, he has a right to be served by others.

I'm in control here. You need to serve me. And people in authority are too often driven by selfishness.

I'm the boss here. And so when fallen people get into positions of authority, whether it's a husband in a home or a supervisor in the workplace, these are the kinds of attitudes that are displayed in the kinds of actions seen.

Again, I'm the boss here. You must serve me in my interests. But when the Lord saw his disciples behaving in this manner, he basically told them, stop it.

Unbelievers live that way, think that way. Not you. And he gave himself as an example.

The fact is, all authority we acquire should be employed in serving others. And that is a profound principle.

But it should govern the way we view ourselves in the workplace. Serving others, not expecting or demanding that they serve us.

And so authority is never to be used to gain dominance or control over others. That is self -serving, self -exalting, sinful.

We are to be servants, using the authority with which we have been entrusted to serve others.

Ministering to their practical needs as well as their spiritual needs. And this includes providing instruction, equipping them, perhaps, exhorting them, encouraging them, perhaps a need for rebuke and correction if needed.

And so the Lord taught, if you're one of the greatest, that is, if you are one who has authority, you should be as though you were the youngest.

Having no rights or claims for others to serve you, but only responsibility to serve others about you.

That is a profound worldview that is no longer our worldview in our culture.

It was once. We are to have a servant spirit wherever we serve the

Lord, in whatever station of life we find ourselves. Again, whether it's in the home or workplace, that ought to be our attitude.

And so that's the first principle. A second principle, our labor of service in the workplace should be to fulfill the desires and achieve the goals of our supervisor or employer.

Not just to log in our hours and do our duty or a little bit of work, but we actually desire to further the goals and purposes of the one in authority over us.

And so when we speak of serving, we should understand that this, to do so, embraces the responsibility and opportunity to achieve the goals of those of whom the

Lord has placed over us. And so a servant spirit is not simply a grudging surrender, acknowledging and yielding to the place that God has placed us.

Yeah, I've got to do it. This is a part of life. But it's to be with the active intention to accomplish the task and fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to you by the one in authority over you.

And we need to develop that attitude and that approach. Our desire and motivation should be to make our supervisor or employer successful.

When a supervisor or employer perceives this as your attitude or approach to your employment, do not be surprised if he or she moves to promote you, giving you more authority.

In our fallen world now, I don't know for certain, although I've talked with some that have been in that environment,

I would think that in the corporations of the world that it is a cutthroat business where somebody is attempting to undermine and undercut others about them in order to advance themselves.

But that is not to be the attitude of the Christian. Rather, we are to seek to advance others, and particularly those in authority over us.

And when an employer or supervisor sees that, that they can trust you with authority, they know you're going to wisely use it, they'll give you more authority.

That will be the tendency. And so our desire and motivation should be to make our supervisor or employer successful.

Now, please forgive me for citing some personal experience about this, and I'm not a stellar example, but there are some things

I think that I have learned and have done. Last week I commented about my dad, and that although he was not a

Christian, he lived in a time when there was a Christian worldview. And the things I'm talking about, he taught me, my brothers, my sister as we were growing up.

The kind of attitudes that we should have in any workplace, I can remember him saying when

I was a little boy, if you grow up to be a garbage collector, you'd be the best garbage collector that you could possibly be.

And I'll be happy with you. When I became a

Christian, and upon reading the Holy Scriptures, these principles were easily recognized by me.

But after having become a Christian, I now had a desire for principles in my work.

And so when Mary and I were newly married, and we were kids, I was 19, she was 18 when we were first married, 43 years ago.

I was a clerk in a grocery store. And the manager, Bob Bailey, was known as a hard man to work for.

Nothing pleased him. Nobody really liked working for him.

But I gave myself to his service. And I worked hard and was faithful and was creative in my work.

I offered to come in at night and stock shelves, and I did that for him. And he was very pleased, changed the whole manner in which the work was done.

And I enjoyed my labor because it was unto the Lord. And I recall one time when he was attempting to rebuke and correct me about something in the back room, he tended to do that, great people.

And I was listening, taking it in, and he said to me abruptly, Will you stop smiling at me? How can I be angry with you when you're smiling at me?

I wasn't even aware I was. But I was enjoying myself working. And his rebuke didn't bother me.

He was right. I was trying to receive instruction. I apologized.

I told him it was my goal to make him look good. He wasn't the store owner. He was the manager.

I want you to be the best manager you can be. He didn't know how to act to that or react to that.

Later on, I told him that we were leaving the area. We were moving to Texas. I was going into Christian ministry.

And then he got really angry at me. Again, I'm 21. And he says,

I was planning on putting you in management. Again, I was just a kid.

But he was looking apparently at attitude and motivation.

And he wasn't threatened by that. And so he wanted to put me in a position where I would have more influence and be able to assist him further.

And that's how we ought to be within the workplace. We served in Texas for several years.

We moved down there. Everything we had was in a short bed, narrow box Chevy pickup, 66

Chevy pickup. Everything we owned, we drove to Texas without air conditioning. Drove into Texas the 1st of July, 1974.

And I gave myself over to serving in the church, visitation, teaching classes. I worked three nights a week stocking shelves in a supermarket.

And worked every day, seven days a week. And after three months, the pastor of this church, we ran about 1 ,500 in service, said, no, we need to have you full time.

Put me on staff when I was 21, associate pastor in charge of visitation and soul winning. And so I've been in church work since then, ever since then.

After three years, I told him we were planning, Mary and I were planning to return to Sacramento and start a church with a friend.

And when I told my pastor of our intention, he expressed great concern and regret I was leaving.

He asked me to go for a ride. And this guy was a very well known and prominent man at that time in evangelical circles.

And we went for a ride in his big Lincoln sedan. Now you can imagine a southern evangelical church and all of the trappings.

He was bigger in life to me. And just a kid, I recall.

But he offered me a salary.

You name the price, we'll pay it. He had a co -pastor with him that had been with him for 30 years.

I'll give you his place if you'll stay. And what it was, he said, you have a zeal and a servant's heart.

And I need you. I want you here. Don't leave. Now we left. We felt it was the calling of God to do so.

We did. But again, I was just a dumb kid. But again, there's people in authority.

This is the kind of person they're looking for. And although we live in a fallen world, all right, in a difficult society,

I personally think that a young Christian man or woman, really, it's unfair competition in your favor as you go into the workplace if you exhibit these

Christian principles and attitudes. And you're going to experience hostility and difficulty and opposition.

But you're going to rise to the top. Now, I realize my words alone have no real weight except to the degree they can reflect or illustrate biblical principle.

But you need not look any farther than the Joseph story in the book of Genesis. This is exactly what happened to him.

Is that not right? And you look at the attitude that he exhibited and his motivation and the goals that he had wherever he found himself.

Joseph was, of course, the second to the youngest son of the twelve sons of Jacob and Rachel. He was

Joseph's favorite son. It resulted in jealousy and anger on the part of his brothers. And so they beat him up and they sold him into slavery to Egypt.

And he ended up being in Potiphar's house. And, of course,

Joseph became a servant to Potiphar and he was faithful. And it got to the point where he became

Potiphar's chief steward. It got to the point where Potiphar didn't know what was going on because everything was trusted to Joseph.

He was faithful. He was furthering Potiphar's goals. And so we read, the Lord blessed the

Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. Think of all the occurrences in the scriptures where some pagan king recognized and declared to Abraham, I know

God has blessed me because you've been with us. And this is how Potiphar, he understood

Joseph. Because Joseph's attitudes, his motivations, his principles were sound and solid.

He was a servant and he served Potiphar. And he was seeking to bring credit and wealth, success to Potiphar's household.

And, of course, he had problems. He was accused falsely by Potiphar's wife.

And so he was thrown into prison. And we read of this, of course, in Genesis 39.

The wife of Potiphar falsely accused him. He was thrown in prison. But there we read of Joseph being faithful to the prisoner guard, the overseer of the prison.

And so increasingly he gave Joseph responsibility and authority.

And it got to the point where Joseph was controlling and ruling the prison. It's amazing.

The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority because the Lord was with him.

And whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. And so Joseph excelled.

Now, of course, Joseph was in prison unjustly for an extended period of time. But he saw it as an opportunity for service.

He saw the providence of God, even at that time. It's suggested, it's not declared, but it's implied.

And then, of course, he was also maltreated or neglected by the baker and the butler, who each had a dream and Joseph interpreted it.

And he interpreted them rightly. I think it was the butler that was spared and restored, but he forgot

Joseph. Until the day that, of course, Pharaoh had a dream. Oh, I remember a guy who interpreted my dream.

And so they brought Joseph forward. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream. There's going to be seven years of plenty, then seven years of famine.

Everybody's saying, wringing their hands, what are we going to do? Well, this is what you ought to do. And Joseph told them, well, we need to put somebody in charge.

Why not this guy? And, of course, Joseph became essentially prime minister of Egypt.

And in that role, he served Pharaoh. And he made Pharaoh more powerful, more rich.

In fact, over the course of those years of famine, he ended up buying all the land, except for the land of the priests, buying all the land in the name of Pharaoh.

He made Pharaoh a very wealthy, powerful man. But he had a servant spirit, a servant's heart.

Joseph was seeking to make Pharaoh successful. He had that attitude and that principle.

And that's the kind of attitude that we ought to have in the workplace. Our labor of service in the workplace should fulfill the desires and achieve the goals of our supervisor or employer.

What do you want me to do? How can I do it? How can I best do it?

How can I better do it? And that's the kind of attitude that should characterize a

Christian in his or her service. Thirdly, our labor of service in the workplace, of course, should be governed by the principles of the law of God, God whom we ultimately serve.

We live in a world of sinners. And there are times in the workplace or the family, society, when the

Christian is asked or expected to do something he cannot do according to his conscience. Either a direct command in the word of God prohibits him from carrying out the directives given, or his conscience, sensitized to the faith, will not permit him or us to act in the manner to which we are directed.

And, of course, one of the primary illustrations of that is the Jewish leaders commanding the apostles,

Peter and the rest, you don't preach Jesus in Jerusalem. And, of course, the right response of the apostles was, hey, is it right to obey you or God?

And they continued to preach the gospel. And rightly so. They suffered persecution for it and difficulty for it, but they were happy to suffer for the name of Christ.

And God blessed them in that. And so there are times when you have to take a stand. But that's not always the case.

I have known some of our fundamentalist acquaintances. In fact, there was probably a time in my younger years

I could have been an example to them, I suppose, in many ways of zeal and fundamentalism, where you take a stand, but in reality your attitudes are attitudes of defiance and rebellion when you say or claiming that you're standing for the faith, standing for Christ.

But we should be mindful of our attitudes in those kinds of situations and settings. And if we truly desire the welfare and advancement of the human authority that God has placed over us, it will temper our attitudes and our words.

And if we had time, we could go into detail in Daniel chapter 1. And I had intended to rehearse that chapter, but we don't have time.

Where Daniel, as a teenager, with his three friends, taken from his home, away from his family, thrust into Babylon, set aside by the king, and as Babylon would do, they would take their conquered people and young men that appeared to have promise, and they would teach them and train them in the ways of Babylon, and then they in turn would be able to lead and rule over the conquered people on behalf of the

Babylonian king. And Daniel and his friends were set aside. They were to have a particular diet prescribed to them by the king, and it was administered, of course, by the chief of the eunuchs there in the king's palace.

And, of course, the diet and the treatment was in a manner that would cause

Daniel and his friends to violate the law of God regarding their diet. Well, Daniel, of course, and his friends determined they were not going to compromise, they were not going to defile themselves, but they didn't come out in defiance to the one over them.

This man was a go -between. He was trying to do the will of the king over him, and he was seeking really the benefit and welfare of Daniel and his friends.

You know, we want you to eat this way and discipline your way so that you'll be stronger and more alert and better able to serve the king.

And so Daniel, in his wisdom given to him by the Lord, of course, proposed an alternative.

He gave an appeal, a proper appeal, to the one over him. Why don't you give us a test and let us, you know, for a month or however long it was,

I think it was a month, observe only the diet which is permitted to us and then compare us with the other youths.

And, of course, the Lord blessed that. And Daniel and his friends became preeminent among all of the youths.

Their wisdom and their ability to understand mysteries and whatnot was far surpassing those of the others who had conformed to the diet that was imposed upon them.

And so Daniel was able to serve the supervisor over him, fulfill the desires of the king, be true to his

God, and at the same time glorify the ways of God as a witness before them all.

And I think that's a good illustration of how people under authority should appeal properly to the one in authority, whether it be a wife to a husband or whether it be an employee to an employer, seeking to discern the goals and the motivation of that one in authority and seek to fulfill that, but to do it in a way that's consistent with one's

Christian convictions. And when one does that, it's a wonderful and powerful witness for the cause of Christ.

And again, we could cite, if we had the time and if you had the patience, we could cite some examples about how that is played out practically in life.

And so one's labor of service in the workplace should be governed by the principles of the law of God. We must be true to the

Lord first and foremost. And then lastly, again, this might sound similar, we're to serve others with a real genuine desire for the well -being of all people about us.

It's not just me and mine. God called Jeremiah to minister to his people after Babylon had conquered them and had taken them into exile to Babylon.

And so they would be there 70 years before they could return to the promised land. And so God through Jeremiah instructed the people how they were to live in Babylon.

And we read these words in Jeremiah 29. These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent.

People who Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. The letter was sent by the hand of Elash.

And here it is. Build houses and dwell in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit.

Take wives, beget sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons, give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters, that you may be increased there and not diminished.

And then verse 7. And I think it's interesting that it's worded in this way. Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray to the

Lord for it. For in its peace you will have peace. He didn't tell them just merely to etch out a living and try and do the best you can for you and yours and your family.

But he actually exhorted them, encouraged them. You seek the well -being of those Babylonians.

Again, we were describing it last week, that Protestant work ethic, that free capitalism, as the

Protestant reformers set forth. Capitalism, not wealth, in order to cushion your own security and buy all the toys, but to gain capital and then invest it in your community so the well -being of the community will rise with your investment.

And in this way you are serving God and serving your neighbor. And Jeremiah very specifically tells them, you go to Babylon and you seek to serve those

Babylonians and seek to bring well -being to that community.

And as Christians, we should desire the well -being of our community and seek to help it and assist it and encourage it in whatever way the

Lord opens for us. That's a good thing. But the attitude we ought to have is one of benevolence.

Even though God has chosen his people who will be saved and the rest are legitimately left to their own ruin in their sin, nevertheless

God has a general benevolence for all mankind. Doesn't he? He sends his reign upon the just and unjust alike and we ought to have a genuine concern for the well -being of people about us and seek to be used to the

Lord to bring about that good to them. May the Lord use us to show forth his goodness that might bring people to repentance.

Amen? That would be a wonderful thing. And so may the Lord help us to have godly attitudes and may we exhibit these in our words, in our speech, our attitudes in the way that we respond to those in authority over us.

This is how the Lord Jesus lived and he was faithful in all of his endeavor. He never served himself once in all of his life and therefore the

Father couldn't trust him with all authority in heaven and earth because the Father knew that he would be faithful in it.

The Father couldn't trust you or me with all authority in heaven and earth. He could trust the Lord Jesus with that but to the degree the

Lord Jesus can entrust authority to us let us be faithful in it as he enables us.

Amen? Let's pray. Thank you, Father, for your word and for the wisdom that is reflected in it and we pray that you would help us, our

God, to have proper attitudes and principles to govern all of life. Help us, our

Lord, to have genuine concern for those about us in our neighborhood, in the workplace.

Give us opportunities, Lord, to witness to our neighbors and to others. Give us courage.

Help us, our Lord, to have compassion for their destiny is a horrible one if they do not come to Christ.

Enable us to be faithful, faithful stewards, our God. Faithful of the authority that you have granted us for you have promised that those who are faithful in little things will be granted greater things over which we'll be responsible and we'll thank you, our

Lord, for the blessing that you give us as we seek to glorify Christ as we serve you and your people for we pray in Jesus' name.