Well we’re there in Ephesians 6. And of course on Wednesday nights we are studying through the book of Ephesians, going verse by verse, chapter by chapter. And if you remember, last week we started Ephesians 6. We you only made it through the first four verses and we talked about children and fathers. And if you remember from last week, we talked about the fact that the first nine verses of this chapter deal with these Authority relationships. And in verses one through four, you see the children and fathers. In verses 5 to 9, you see the servants and masters. And it’s really talking about how to deal with authority. Either the authority over you in regards to the children and servants and the authority that you have in regards to the fathers and masters.
So last week we talked about fathers and children and this week we’re going to talk about servants and masters. We’re going to walk through verses 5 through 9. And let me just go ahead and say this, of course he is referring to servants. If you look at verse 5, he says servants be obedient to them that are your masters. And he’s talking about this relationship of servants and masters. And it is exactly what that is he’s talking about. People that are bond servants, that are servants to these masters according to the flesh. That is the relationship there. But I want to go ahead and say that you know the main application for us today, we don’t really have servants or indentured servants or slavery or things like that. Of course in the first century when Paul is writing, this was something that was common to them.
But I want to say this, that all of this applies to the employee and employer relationship. In fact, I don’t think that there’s one person that these verses don’t apply to. Because if you’re sitting here tonight and you have a job, all of this is going to apply to you. How you should deal with your boss and how you should be towards him and how your boss should be towards you. But honestly, you can apply it anywhere. You know every teenager should be listening tonight. Because we’re going to learn about how to be a good employee and how to be a good worker. And whether that’s a future job one day or just you being a teenager at home and working at home, this applies to you. Every Church volunteer, this applies to you as well. If you work here as a volunteer, of course we don’t pay our volunteers, you’re serving the Lord. But all of this work ethic and how to serve and these things may apply to all of us.
We’ll begin tonight by looking at this idea of how servants should deal with the authority that they are under. And that’s what Paul talks about here in verse five. Notice, he says “5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,”. Now I want you to keep your place there in Ephesians six, that’s obviously our text for tonight. But go to Colossians 3. Colossians 3 is a parallel passage to Ephesians 6. So you’re going to notice that they’re going to cover very similar things. You’ll notice it says the same thing in verse 22 “22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh;”. God is telling those of us that are under the authority of someone that they are to obey. And we’ve already been seeing this in chapter 5. We saw wives are to submit to their husbands. And earlier in chapter 6 we saw that children are to obey their parents. And now we’re being told that servants are to obey in all things, your masters according to the flesh. But I want you to notice how it is that they are supposed to serve.
So we’re going to go back and forth between Ephesians and Colossians. And if you’re taking down notes, I’d encourage you to write these things down. Number one, we are to work when you are in a relationship, where you are under the authority of someone. And you’re expected to work primarily as an employee-employer relationship. But this still applies to kids with their parents. This still applies to volunteers in a church. And it still applies with a wife and with her husband. All of those things still apply. He says look, when you work, and this is really him teaching about work and having a work ethic. And when we look at this tonight, I want you to really identify this with yourself. Use what we’re learning tonight and look at yourself and ask yourself, am I this type of person? Because he’s really telling us what a good worker is and what the Bible defines is a good worker.
First of all, he says this, you ought to work without supervision. You ought to be the type of worker who doesn’t need to just be continually supervised and micromanaged and watched all day long. You ought to be the type of worker that doesn’t have to have somebody just over them making sure that they are working. Ephesians 6:5 “5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;”. We’re going to come back to that in a minute. Notice verse six. “6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers;”. What does that mean when he says not with eyeservice? What he’s saying is your service should not be connected to your bosses eyes. And look, we all know people that work like this. Maybe you are someone like this. When the boss is around, you’re just busy. I mean you’re shuffling folders back and forth and you’re opening and closing files. And you’re not doing anything but you look like you’re busy. And as soon as the boss is out of the room, it’s like relax, put your feet up on the table. God says when you work, not with eyeservice. Because look, when you work just because you’re being watched and just because you’re being seen, he says you’re a man pleaser. He says not with eyeservice as menpleasers. You ought not be the type of worker who is only working hard when you are being watched. He says you ought to be the type of worker that doesn’t need to be supervised, that doesn’t need to be micromanaged, that doesn’t need to have the boss just constantly watching you and making sure you’re getting stuff done. You ought to be the type of worker who can just work without being supervised.
Go to Colossians 3:22, the Bible says this. “22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God;”. He said you are not suppose to serve with eyeservice as men pleasers. You ought to work just because you’re a good worker. And by the way this is what the Bible teaches is a hard worker. A hard worker is one who can work without being supervised. Go to the book of Proverbs. The Bible defines a hard worker as somebody who can work without supervision. And if you are someone who is unable to work without supervision then you are lazy. According to the Bible, the Bible says that you are a slothful person. Well what do I do about it? Stop it. Alright. Start being a hard worker, someone who’s responsible.
Proverbs 6:6 “6 Go to the ant,”. He says go and learn a lesson from the ant. He says “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”. A sluggard is a lazy person. Now why is God telling the lazy person to go consider the ant? Notice, here’s why. Verse 7 “7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”. He says look, the lazy person needs to learn how to work without having a guide and overseer and a ruler. They need to learn how to work without being someone who just has to be watched and micromanaged and told. He says look, you are a lazy slothful person if you cannot work without being supervised.
Go to Genesis 39. Listen to me teenager, if your mom and dad can’t just tell you, can’t just say this is your job, your job is to take out the trash, this is your job, your job is to do the laundry, this is your job, your job is to wash the dishes or whatever your chores are at home, if your parents can’t just tell you that to you one time. Or here’s your job every night, you do the dishes every Monday, you take out the trash every Friday, you’re just the type of person that needs to have someone just watch the entire time to make sure you actually do it, just know this, you are lazy and you will fail in life. You will not be a good worker.
And you say “Pastor, why are you saying this?”. I’m telling does I’m trying to help you. You want to be a good worker who is going to be promoted in life, that people are going to be happy to hire you? Let me tell you something, in the Bible every worker that was right with God was always the best worker. I mean just from Genesis to Revelation. We’re going to look at one example tonight. We’re going to compare Paul’s teaching and look at the example of Joseph. But look, you could do it with Joseph or Isaac or Jacob or Daniel or Shadrach or Meshach or Abednego. You could do with whatever person you want to pick in the entire Bible. What you find when you read about these men in the Bible, when you read about Mordecai, when you read about Esther, they’re all hard workers. And they all go up the ladder and whatever Kingdom they find themselves serving in. Nehemiah, Ezra these were people that worked hard. Look, in the Bible, God’s people had a name of being great workers.
And today we should have the same reputation. the best workers in Sacramento should be members of Verity Baptist Church. I hope that employers say that you’re just crazy but I’ll tell you what, they got some hard workers over there. You say how do you do that? How do you become a great worker? Well number one, you can’t be a man pleaser serving only with eyeservice. You need to go to the ant thou sluggard which having no guide overseer or ruler provideth her meet in the summer. He’s be able to work without supervision.
In Genesis 39, this is highlighted about Joseph. And by the way, Joseph’s just a 17 year old kid when he gets sold. Obviously throughout the story he gets older. But this is just a kid. And I want you to notice how the Bible identifies him. Genesis 39:4 “4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him:” Notice “and he made him” This is Joseph being sold into slavery to Potiphar, right. This is a servant-master relationship. Joseph found grace in his sight and he served him. “and he” Potiphar “made him” Joseph “overseer over his house,” He got a promotion. He got a raise. He went up the ladder. “and all that he had he put into his hand.”. “5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. 6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.”.
What does that mean? Here’s what that means. He didn’t have to supervise him. Potiphar didn’t know what Joseph was doing all day. He just came home at night and he saw the place was running smoothly. Everything was getting done. And he’s like, I’m not sure what Joseph is doing but whatever Joseph is doing, it’s working. Because Joseph was the type of worker that did not need to be supervised. Notice, even after he’s lied about, and he’s thrown into prison.
Look at Genesis 39:22 “22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison” Notice these words “looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper”. Here we’re told that even in prison Joseph was seen as a hard worker. He was promoted, He was in prison and they committed to Joseph. And all the prisoners and the keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his head. He didn’t have to be supervised. He didn’t have to be watched. A hard worker, a good worker is one that works without supervision. And look, you got to really look at your own life. If you are an adult and you have jobs, consider how you are at work. Are you really a person who just doesn’t need to be supervised? Look, whether the boss is there or not, whether he’s out on vacation, whatever he’s doing, you’re just at work? Or are you a man pleaser? Are you just working with eyeservice. Because look, as a Christian you got to work without being supervised.
But there’s a second thing I’d like you to notice. Number one, I said a Christian ought to work without supervision. Number two, a Christian ought to work with a good attitude. You ought to work with a good attitude. Notice verse 5 “5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,”. Notice what he says, I want you to be obedient. But I want you to be obedient in a certain way. He says, “with fear and trembling,”. You and I would say that in a respectful way. He says I want you to be obedient to them that are your masters according to flesh. But I want you do it with respect. I mean not criticizing the boss, gossiping about the boss, bad-mouthing the boss or saying “Well if I was the boss, I wouldn’t do it”. Well let me let me break it to you, you’re not the boss. And you know what, there’s a reason why you’re not the boss. It’s probably because you’re a complainer. You want to be the boss someday, just work hard without being supervised, be respectful, shut your mouth, just work and you’ll be the boss one day. If not of that place then someone else will pick you up and make you a boss.
But you know what you need to work. Look, as Christians we need to work without being supervised and we need to work with a good attitude. He says with fear and trembling. But he says this “in singleness of your heart,”. That word singleness means with sincerity. It means with no other motive, with no other look when you go to work. You ought not to have any other motive other than I’m here to make the boss money. Do you understand? That’s why you got hired. I know some people don’t realize that. They think the boss is supposed to do this for me and do that for me. A good boss will be kind and gentle, we’re going to look at that here tonight as well. But let me explain something to you, the reason they hired you, the reason they’re paying you is so that you can make them money, so that you can produce, you can bring profit, you can bring something to them. That’s why they hired you.
So when you work for someone, you ought to do it with a good attitude. With fear and trembling in singleness of your heart. You don’t have to don’t turn there. I just want you to notice that in Colossians 3:22, it says the same thing. “22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God;”.
Ephesians 6:6 “6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ,”. I want you to notice the emphasis is not just on what you’re doing but on how you’re doing it. “doing the will of God from the heart;”. Notice “7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:”. Ya be the type of worker where he says with goodwill doing the will of God from the heart. What is all this referring to? It’s referring to the fact that you have a good attitude. Don’t be the type of person who just goes to work and you’re always complaining. Complaining about everything. Complaining about why do we have to do this? Look, you got hired to do that. Why are you complaining about it? Whatever it is you complain about, they’re paying you to do that. So do it. Just go to work and don’t be the type of worker that needs to be continually supervised. And don’t be the type of worker that’s always complaining and griping and upset about something. You say why? Because look, as Christians we need to be the type of workers that God wants us to be. And that requires working without being supervised.
And look, let me tell you something, you will never be the boss if you can’t figure out how to work without being supervised. Let me tell you something about bosses, let me say something about business owners, even pastors. You know the Pastor he works for God. I work for God absolutely. God’s never given me a time sheet to fill out. I mean I work for God but you know in a very practical way I’m kind of running a business here. Nobody tells me when to get up in the morning. Nobody tells me when to get to work. I can’t even tell you last time I took a day off. But it’s not because anybody said that I couldn’t take a day off. You know business owners they have to get up just and work because they out of their own accord, no one’s waiting for them at the office. If you’re the type of person that unless somebody’s calling you saying “Hey, where are you. You’re supposed to be here 30 minutes ago”. You can’t show up to work on time then you’re never going to be the boss, you’re never going to be the owner, you’re never going to be the Pastor, you’re never going to be whatever, you’re never going to run your own show. When you’re running your own show, you have to be able to work without being supervised. So go to work and just don’t be a man pleaser. Go to work and have a good attitude.
Go to Genesis chapter 40, let’s look at our friend Joseph. Now look, if there was ever anyone who had a right to have a bad attitude, it’s Joseph. I mean he gets sold into slavery by his own brothers. He gets lied about when he does nothing wrong. He gets lied about by some woman, thrown in prison, forgotten by the butler. You know all these bad things happen to Joseph. And look, if Joseph had a bad attitude I think we would all be like “Hey you know what Joseph, I’d have a bad attitude too if I was you.”. But you know what you learn about Joseph when you study him throughout the Bible? He always had a good attitude. In fact he’s trying to help people that have a bad attitude.
Notice Genesis 40:6. “6 And Joseph came in” Remember he’s in prison because he’s been lied about. “And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. 7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?”. Here you have the butler and the Baker who are in prison. They’re probably in prison because they actually did something wrong. Joseph is in prison because he’s been lied about. You think Joseph would be the one looking sad, right. I mean if it was me or you, we would walk in and be like the butler, all sad and be like what’s wrong with you. But here Joseph, he’s the one with the good attitude. He’s looking at them and he’s saying wherefore looking so sadly today? Now look, you don’t ask somebody why do you look so sad when you look as sad and miserable as they do. You know Joseph is having a good spirit. He’s having a good attitude. This is how a Christian worker ought to be.
You got to be the type of worker who can go to work without being supervised. You got to be the type of worker who maintains a good attitude. You say I just don’t know how I could do that. Well you know what, as a Christian worker you have to work without supervision, you ought to work with a good attitude. You say how do I do that? You’ve got to come to a realization that you’re working unto God. That’s really the key. The key is that you’re not working for that boss, you’re not working for that manager, you’re not working for that master in the flesh. But you ought to work when you’re a Christian, you ought to work as unto Christ.
Ephesians 6:5 “5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;”. How should I work? As unto Christ. “6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:”. When you go to work, you ought to go to work with this idea, I work for God. I work for the Lord. I’ve got a human who’s over me, a master in the flesh, but you know what I’m actually a servant of Christ. Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, the Bible says do all to the glory of God. Everything you do in your life and everything I do in my life, whether it’s eating, drinking, going to work, whatever we’re doing, we have to do everything to bring glory to the name of God.
So when you go to work, you ought to work so that God the Father would be glorified. So you got to work as the servant of Christ, as to the Lord. Go to Colossians 3:23. “23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”. And you know what, it doesn’t matter what you do, it doesn’t matter where you work, it doesn’t matter if you’re a wife and you’re working for your husband, you’re a teenager and you’re working for your parents, you’re an employee and you’re working for an employer, that is the application. You’re a volunteer, look, you ought to look at everything you do as though you’re doing it for the Lord. It will revolutionize your life, your work life, if you realize that what I do, I do it unto Christ.
Here at church, it can be difficult. t I’ve got some staff guys that I can yell at but other than those guys, this is just a volunteer force. So I don’t really get to just get up in people’s business and say what’s wrong with you? Why can’t you show up on time? Why do you miss this? It’s a volunteer force. But I would just remind you, when you volunteer here and we ask you to do certain things…For example, you’re in the orchestra and it has practice times that we ask orchestra members to be at. The ushers have an usher’s meeting that they’re supposed to go to every week. The cleaners are supposed to show up to clean at a certain time. You say well why? I just do what I want. You’re not paying me. But if you felt like you are doing this service for God, you’d look at it different.
You say “I’m not ushering for Pastor”. Ok, but if you were ushering for Jesus, do you show up to the usher’s meeting? If you were playing an instrument for God, you show up to a practice. Whatever it is, Bible reading. Whatever you’re doing, working in the sound room. Whatever you’re doing, if you realize I’m not doing this for man, I’m not doing it for man or to be seen of man, I’m doing it for God, then you might take it seriously. Then you might actually show up on time. Then you might actually have a good attitude. Look, if you showed up to work tomorrow and said, “Yes I have a boss. Yes I have a manager. Yes I have an employer. But you know what, above all that I am a servant to Christ. I serve Christ.”. You probably show up to work with a good attitude and work, not only when the boss is there. And you might end up getting a raise. As a worker, you ought to work without supervision.
Look, I realize people get sick and all those things happen. I’m not talking about that. But if you’re the type of person where someone is constantly telling you that you’re supposed to show up at this time, you’re supposed to be at this meeting, you’re supposed to go to this practice. If you’re that type of person, just realize that you’re lazy and need to do something. Look, if you’re the type of person constantly showing up late. I realize we get flat tires, things happen, you show up late. But there’s people who show up late when something happens and then there’s a person who shows up late to everything.
I mean all of us know that person who shows up late and usually they always show up the same amount of time late. They always show up five minutes late to the service. They always show up 15 minutes late. Let me just fill you in on something, if youre always 15 minutes late, start getting ready 15 minutes earlier. It’s not that hard. Synchronize your watches. It’s not that difficult. Hey I don’t understand. If there’s one thing my dad instilled in us is don’t waste people’s time. One of the rudest things you could do is when someone’s waiting on you and you’re just stopping at Starbucks. Just taking your time, checking your email, don’t waste people’s time. That is so rude. You say well, service starts at 6:00 and it takes me five and a half hours to get ready. Well maybe you need to have lunch and start getting ready for church. Do whatever you got to do to be there but show up to work on time. Look men, you will get fired. You will not be able to hold down a job if you can’t figure out how to show up to work on time. You say I want a raise. Show up to work on time. It’s not that hard. It’s not that complicated. Go to work and be a hard worker. Work with a good attitude without needing to be supervised. You work as unto the Lord.
Go to Genesis 39. Notice, Joseph had this idea when Joseph is tempted to sin against his employer. This is a grievous sin. He’s being tempted to commit adultery with his master’s wife. But look, whether it’s something as severe as committing adultery or whether it’s just cutting out early because the boss is gone. And he’s not going to take a longer lunch because the boss isn’t here. He’s not going to take this pen or these things because the boss doesn’t know. Whatever you’re going to do at work, you ought to realize, Joseph realized that he’s a servant of God.
Genesis 39:8 “8 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not” That word wotteth means knoweth. “my master wotteth not what is with me in the house,”. Because he’s a good worker. He’s like, “my master is not even checking in on me”. “and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness,” And he says this “and sin against God?”. He doesn’t say his master. Joseph went to work every day realizing that he wasn’t serving for Potiphar. He didn’t sin, not because of Potiphar, although I don’t think he wanted to sin against Potiphar. But he said I cannot sin against God.
You know what a good Christian employee does? they work without supervision. They maintain a good spirit and a good attitude. And they work as unto the Lord. They do it as unto the Lord. Look, if Jesus was your boss, would you be taking a longer break? “Well if he’s watching me”. Okay, he’s God. He watches everything. And if Jesus was your boss, would you just be not showing up to the meetings. Not showing up to the practices. You’re supposed to show up fulfilling the requirements that you agreed to do. If Jesus was watching you, would you be doing it. Let me let you in on a little secret. Jesus was watching you. Do you understand that. I don’t get this man pleaser Christianity when people are around. But when no one’s around then I’ll do what I want. Well I mean are you doing it for me or are you doing it for God? Because God’s always around. God’s always watching. He’s always paying attention. You got to work as unto the Lord. You say yeah but if I do that, if I serve like, I’m serving the Lord, they’re just going to take advantage of me. Now if I start serving at Verity Baptist Church like I’m serving God, Pastor is never going to give me credit, never going to mention my name from the pulpit. Well why are you doing it? To have your name mentioned from the pulpit?
Well if I worked like, if I go to work and work like my boss is Jesus, I’m going to make them all sorts of money and I’m never going to get promoted. They’re never going to give me the raise. They’re always going to look over me. They’re not going to bless me. Ephesians 6:8 “8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.”. You know when you work as unto the Lord, then it is the Lord that gets to promote you. Promotion cometh neither from the east or from the west or from the south. The Bible says that God is the judge. The Bible says that God sets up those who he wants to and brings down those who he will.
Let me tell you something, you just work hard and God will take care of you. You ought to work knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth the same shall he receive of the Lord. Knowing that God’s going to promote you. And whether he might promote you there, he might move you somewhere else and promote you, but look, God is going to make sure that you are blessed if you just work hard for him.
“But I have this terrible boss and he’s so stingy. He never gives raises and he’s always gone and expects us to work while he’s off on vacation.”. “8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.”. You’re going to 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 with God. See your boss might have favorites. Your boss might show favoritism. But you know there’s no respect of persons with God. God is going to make sure that you’re blessed. You just show up and you work and you work well. “But they’re promoting other people and they’re doing other things and I was supposed to get that raise and I put in for that position”. Then you know look, you forget about that. Just go to work and say I work for God and you might end up like Joseph.
Go to Genesis 41. You say but Joseph worked hard for Potiphar and made him all sorts of money and he threw him into prison. Yeah you’re right, and then Joseph goes to prison and he works hard for that prison master and he takes care of all the responsibilities that prison master is supposed to take care of and then they just forgot about him. You know you’re right. But you know what, God made sure he just got promoted. Genesis 41:39 “39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:”. Notice what he says “40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.”. Joseph ended up being Potiphar’s boss.
Here is all I’m telling you, you just go to work and work hard, you just keep a good attitude, and you just don’t be a man pleaser and work hard and forget about whether you get the credit. Forget about whether everybody noticed it. “But if I work hard when the boss is not there he’s not going to know”. But God will know and God will promote you. And if the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance and the Lord is going to make sure that you get what you have coming to you. Look, God’s going to make sure, look at this phrase that I’m about to tell you, God is going to make sure that you get what’s coming to you. Now that could be a good thing or that could be a bad thing. You decide. The Lord’s going to make sure you get what’s coming to you. That’s a good thing. But if you go to work, you’re just late, you’re taking long lunches, you’re stealing from the boss, you’re lying, you have a bad attitude, God’s going to make sure you have what’s coming to you. That’s not a good thing. Look guys, you decide what’s coming to you. Realize that we have a father and his name is God.
Go back to Ephesians chapter 6. We talked about the servants and how the servants deal with the authority they are under. They should work without supervision, they should work with a good attitude, and they should work as unto the Lord. Let’s quickly talk about how the masters should deal with their authority they have. So now let’s shift gears and talk about the boss. Ephesians 6:9 “9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.”. You know what, God tells the Masters, he says look masters do the same thing unto them. He’s saying you do to them what they were just commanded to do to you. So you don’t sit there and have a bad attitude towards them. You don’t sit there and criticize them. He says forbearing threatening. He’s like you don’t want to be the type of master, the type of boss.
Look, you don’t want to be the type of employer, the type of husband, the type of father, the type of pastor, if you’re constantly having to tell people that you’re in charge. You gotta listen to me. I’m in charge. Look, if you’re constantly having to tell people that you’re in charge then you’re not in charge. It’s just the truth. “forbearing threatening”. He said look, you want to be the type of boss that is not just threatening and angry and upset and mad.
There’s different types of leaders out there. You say master is a jerk. My boss is a jerk. My husband’s a jerk. My dad’s a jerk. My manager is a jerk. They’re mean. They’re not nice. 1 Peter 2:18 “18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear;”. Don’t miss this. “not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.”. That means to the one that’s difficult to deal with. Your job is to just obey and be subject to your master whether you have a good boss or not. Joseph let God deal with that. You just serve God. You just serve as unto the Lord and God will reward you. But you know as leaders, we should not be the master that is difficult to deal with but we should be good and gentle. We should be good and gentle.
Go to Matthew 20. What kind of leaders should we be as Christians? Look, maybe you are a boss at work. Maybe you’re a manager. Maybe you have a crew, whatever. Maybe you’ve got people under you that you are their authority. If you’re a husband this applies to you. If you’re a father this applies to you. If you’re a Pastor this applies to you. What kind of leader should we be? The Bible teaches that we should practice servant leadership. Let me show it to you. Matthew 20:25 “25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles”. The Gentiles here is talking about the nations of the world. Worldly people. “the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them,” Dominion means the power to rule over someone. “exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.”. Authority is the power to give orders. To make this easy, let me tell you how the leaders of the world lead. They say, “I’m the boss, you do what I’m saying. Because I’m the man of the house, you do what I say. I’m dad.”. And look there’s the time to say “You do what I say because I’m dad”. I understand there is a time but you should not just always do that. you’re just a jerk. You’re just threatening everybody. “Do it or you’re fired”. He says look, that’s how the world’s leadership is. They exercise dominion over them and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
He says here’s how you gotta lead. Verse 26 “26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;”. The word Minister means servant. Someone who serves. He’s talking about servant leadership. “27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”. Now let me just explain something about servant leadership really quickly. Maybe you haven’t heard that term before. And sometimes people get the wrong idea when we say servant leadership. Here’s what we’re not saying, we’re not saying with servant leadership that the servant and the master switch roles. No dad, you take out the trash or you go do the dishes. Servant leadership is not that the master becomes a servant. Obviously you have positions of authority. You were hired to do certain things or your position as a wife is to submit to your husband or your children are to obey your parents. Servant leadership is not that the leader becomes a servant like you’ve got to do everything. Servant leadership is this, that you lead as a service for those who follow you. That you lead not for the benefit of self but for the benefit of those that are following you.
See, there is a difference between a husband who says “Well I’m the husband so I’m going to try to milk out of this everything I can. And pastor said you got to submit and I’m going to leave”. But there’s a difference between the person who leads for their own benefit and the leader who says “Yes I am the leader, I have the authority, I have the rule, I have the control. But I’m going to lead for your benefit.”. The father who says I’m going to lead my children not for my benefit. A lot of times fundamental Baptist parents think that their teenagers are their bond service. You know their kids are just their slaves. They’re there to clean the house and make sure that they’re fanning me and feeding me grapes in my mouth. Look, you are to lead for their benefit. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have chores. But they should have chores so they can learn to work hard. It’s for their benefit. The pastor should lead for your benefit. And that means that sometimes you rebuke, you exhort, you reprove. Sometimes you have to correct people. Sometimes you have to say hey, this isn’t okay. Look, you’re still a leader but your motive is for the benefit of the follower. And here’s all I’m telling you, when you learn to lead for the benefit of others, when you show up to work and you say “I am here. I don’t care about getting the credit. I’m serving as unto the Lord. God will make sure I get the credit”. When you’re the boss, the manager, the shift leader, the crew leader, and you say I’m here for your benefit. I’m here to help you succeed, to make you look good. The leaders who help others succeed are the most successful leaders.
You say well I don’t know about that. Well Jesus said, I didn’t come to be served, I came to serve. He said everything I’m doing here is for your benefit. And look, as leaders we ought to lead in a way where we say “Yeah I’m the boss. I am the business owner. I am the manager but I’m not leading for my benefit. I’m leading for your benefit. I’m going to leverage my authority, my experience, any resources at my disposal to help you succeed”. And when you help others succeed, they help you succeed. And that’s servant leadership. Servant leadership is not that the leader is doing everything while the follower relaxes. Servant leadership is that the leader is leading for the benefit of the follower. The husband who leads his family for the benefit of his wife. That’s an extraordinary husband. And that husband will have no problem with his wife submitting to his authority. The husband who takes the Bible and uses those verses for his own benefit, he’s going to have a rebellious wife on his hands. The father the mother who says yes I am the authority in this home but I’m going to leverage my authority for your benefit son, for your benefit daughter. They will have no problem having kids that respect them, love them, follow them. But the parents who see their kids as slaves, let them do all the work. You’re going to have kids that aren’t going to want to be around you, aren’t going to respect. Lead with the servant in mind. You say why? Here’s why, because you are a servant.
Colossians 4:1 “Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.”. So he says leader, you’re a servant. We’re all servants to God. If you have a servant, you have a master in heaven. You’re serving those masters. Give unto your servants that which is just and equal knowing that ye also have a master in heaven.
If you’re in leadership, you ought to lead for the benefit of your followers. That doesn’t mean that you do their job but that means that when you make decisions, when you’ve got to make a decision, you’ve got to make a judgment call, we’re going to start this program, we’re not going to start the program, we’re going to do this, you’re not doing it, for your benefit or what’s best for you or what’s easiest for you. But you’re doing it for the benefit of those that are following you. You’re making decisions for your employees, your church members, whatever it is. You’re making decisions for the benefit of the organization, of the church, of the business, or of the family. You’re running whatever it is for the servant’s benefit. Because at the end of the day, you are a servant.
Proverbs 29:21” 21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.” If you leverage your authority and your leadership properly, if you delicately bring up a servant. “Yeah but they’re a servant”. Yeah but if you love them like us, son if you treat them with respect, if you don’t just try to get something out of it, you invest into them, those people they’ll become like your son. “21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.”.
So as we look at these passages, these verses from Ephesians 6:5-9, the takeaways if you missed it. Takeaway number one, as they serve, you should obey your God-given authority. As a servant you ought to obey your God-given authority as unto God. And God will bless you for it. As a servant, you say this is my God-given Authority here on earth. Whether it’s my boss, whether it’s my mom, whatever it is, that’s my God-given authority. I’m going to serve not as unto him or her, whether they deserve it, whether they don’t deserve it, no I’m going to serve them as unto God. And I’m going to let God deal with the reward process. The promotion process. Making sure that I get what’s coming to me.
And the take away for the Masters is this, as a master you should be gentle and you should lead for the benefit of those who are under your authority. And God will bless you. God will give you influence. God will allow you to have an impact. People will give you their hearts. They’ll give you their energy. They’ll get sold out to whatever cause you’re leading when they know that you’re leading for their benefit and not your own.
Let’s pray.