Employees & Employers
Notes
Transcript
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-OOS
I. Welcome 2.5min
II. Opening Prayer 5min
A. Grace S.
III. Worship 40min
A. 3 Songs
B. Prayer Song: Healing Rain
C. Song B4 Offering: Draw Me Close
D. Offering
a. Envelope announcment
b. offering box in the back coming soon
IV. Greeting Time & Kid’s Church Dismissal 2.5min
V. Announcements 5min
VI. Honor Laurie B.
VII. Sermon 35min
-SERMON
I. INTRO
A. Where We’ve Been
B. Where We’re Going
a. hopping over vs 1-4 (next week for fam. Sunday)
C. Main Text
5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.
9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
D. Pray
E. Context
a. Not a list of rules, do’s/don’ts, ect.
1. Paul is describing what being filled w/the H.S. looks like practically
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Eph 5:
2. instead, this is placed in ways that Jesus Followers mutually submit
2. instead, this is placed in ways that Jesus Followers are to mutually submit
21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
3. goes on 2 describe how this looks in rel. practically
i. starts w/marriage re.
ii. moves on 2 fathers & kiddos (which we’ll talk about next week)
iii. this week
b. In this week’s text, Paul is not clearly advocating abolition of slavery (though maybe he expects it 2 die off as KOG breaks in2 time & space cause it’s not apart o KOG which we’ll see)
1. He’s sharing what following Jesus looks like in a person’s current context until Jesus returns & sets all things right
2. Paul clearly believes in practical equality of all people w/in the KOG
i. this is why he’s sharing mutual submission (far beyond what any1 was suggesting during that time)
ii. We c an even greater discussion of KOG equality in...
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
iii. Slaves in that day was found to have been church leaders (even over their slave holder)
c. slaves in that day (esp. household slaves):
1. had no physical rights (much abuses)
2. could purchase their own freedom (which Christ followers that day often purchased freedom o slaves as they could)
3. could earn $$ on the side
d. closest rel. today (w/the exception of lawful physical abuse): employers & employees
II. BODY
A. Employees & Employers mutually submit (starting with employees)
5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
Eph 6:5-
a. Employees submit to Employers
1. Employees submit by obeying
i. Obey with reverence & respect
-fear & trembling here isn’t about being terrified of the employer,
-but respecting employer’s position & having reverence that his authority is by God’s good pleasure.
*therefore...
ii. Obey sincerely
-sincere heart=honesty of purpose & wholehearted effort
*why? Paul says...
iii. Obey Employers as you would Jesus
-That is, as if you were working directly for Jesus himself…
-simply put the employer’s authority comes from God, so…u r working for Jesus
*reiterated in vs7
7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
-We ARE working 4 the lord so whatever we do should be done well enough as to show God
*so then...
2. No eye-service here
6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Eph 6:6
i. eye-service= working hard while ur boss is around & then go right back to goofing off
-Skating in the Navy
*person walking around w/a clipboard 2 look official
*people taking up smoking so they could get a break
*when a LPO, C, / O walks in the room every1 scurries to look busy
-This should never b said o a Christ-Follower
*We should do our best work regardless o who’s watching (movie “Ruddie”)
~cause it all comes down to motivation
*We R working as to the LORD so whatever we do should be done well enough as to show God
ii. are we trying to please God, or man?
iii. fulfilling our earthly obligations sincerely IS serving God!
-Why do we go 2 work every day?
-R we there because we feel trapped?
*is it just so we can get a paycheck?
*What if God has us where we r on purpose?
*What if where we work was by HIS good pleasure?
~How might that affect how we work?
3. Employees submit by serving with good will
7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
i. Good will= wholehearted enthusiasm; a sense o having their best interest in mind as we act
-no grumbling behind employers back when they leave the room
-does our “shop talk” consist o putting down our boss?
ii. we recognize that by serving our employers w/ wholehearted enthusiasm we r actually doing so 2 God!
-it all boils down to motivation!
*If we r working 2 get a paycheck, we’ll only do enough 2 get by
*If we r working 2 please God (make our daddy happy) then we’ll try our best
~James (look @ me daddy!! Look what I can do) unzip his jammies; picture he “colored”
~What if we had that same work ethic toward God?
^look abba!! I fixed this motor!! did I do a good Job?
^Look how I served those folks @ the restaurant!! they weren’t even nice 2 me, but look how nice I was 2 them!
^look how I...
~everything changes when we do everything 4 God’s good pleasure
b. Employers submit to employees
9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.
1. Employers submit by acting toward employees as to the lord
i. that’s what Paul means by “...do the same to them”
-All comes back to MUTUAL submission
2. Employers submit by serving employees with the same good will (wholehearted enthusiasm)
i. Our employees r in our care (their bast interest in mind), do we treat ‘em as such?
ii. Do we grumble about ‘em to our peers?
3. Jesus is the ultimate master so employers should act like HIM
i. vs 6 describes slaves as bondservants to Christ
ii. vs 7 says bondservants should render service “with good will”
-these statements make it clear that Jesus is the ultimate master.
-John, author o rev. describes Jesus this way in… (King of Kings/Lord of Lords)
- how did He act?
14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
*John is clearly saying that Jesus has ultimate authority!
iii. If Jesus is the ultimate master, how did He act?
Phil 2:5-
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
-didn’t clutch his own glory, prestige, rights, privileges
-got down on the level of the very people who should have served Him
-served those who should have been serving him
-humble obedience to God the Father to the extreme
4. The Gospel is at the center of the employer/employee relationship
i. All of what Paul describes here pre-supposes that the servant & master r Jesus followers
-there4 mutual submission is how we show the world that we r followers of Christ
*why Jesus said in...
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
-that doesn’t mean that if our employer/ employee doesn’t follow Jesus we’re off the hook/ can act however we want!
ii. What about unchurched employers/employees?
-Employers, Jesus displays servant leadership, right?
*so, when we claim to follow Jesus & his ways, but don’t lead as he did, what does our lifestyle say about Jesus’ leadership?
-Employees, the church submits to Jesus w/ all respect & reverence, right?
*then we r showing the world what it really looks like 2 follow Jesus
-Employers should do the same
B. Our response
a. remember that how we act in our rel. is a direct response 2 Jesus’ death & resurrection
1. It’s because we r new in Christ that we can act in this manner
b. so, Go to the LORD seek his face in prayer & worship; during this time…
1. Repent (turn frm sin 2 God)
2. ask God to renew our mind, transforming us in2 his image
3. ask God to work in us “both to will & to work for his good pleasure”
works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure
4. commit urself to do what he says when he says it