Expressing fullness in the Workplace

Let's read together, starting chapter 3, verse 1.

Therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.

In these, you too once walked when you were living in them.

But now you must put them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices,

and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other.

As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

And above all these things, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you are called in one body.

And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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.

Bond servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,

not by way of eye service as people pleases,

but with the 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 bond servants justly and fairly,

knowing that you also have a master in heaven.

Good morning, everyone.

Will you pray with me as we come to God's word?

Father, you have raised Christ to your right hand with heaven and earth under his feet,

and so I pray that you would help us to see how all our work endeavours also should be under his feet.

So please speak to us today.

Encourage and convict us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, a passage about slavery.

We've kind of got to deal with that awkwardness, don't we?

I'm thinking of Britain in the 1700s, 1800s.

They actually had a slave trade.

Their economy built to a large extent on slavery.

So this Christian country using slavery.

But the problem there wasn't the Christianity.

The problem there was they needed to become more Christian.

And I want to illustrate that with the amazing life of a politician, William Wilberforce.

If you've seen the movie Amazing Grace about his story, I would really recommend it.

His life is an amazing one.

So he was a British minister of parliament in 1780.

He got into parliament.

For about 50 years he served.

And he became a believer in Christ after he was in parliament.

And he spent 40 hard years devoted to abolishing the slave trade.

And then he wanted to make slavery itself, not just the trade, illegal as well.

So apparently in 1787, Wilberforce wrote a letter.

He estimated that the annual export of slaves from the western coast of Africa for all nations

at that time, not just Britain, was 100,000 people per year.

And not all of those would survive the boat trip.

He was disgusted by it.

And this disgust came out of his Christian faith.

He spent 20 years fighting it.

And we've got to appreciate that he got severe opposition.

People feared that it would destroy the economy.

England didn't want France and Portugal to become stronger if they just stopped doing it.

He got severe opposition to this.

And he suffered medically.

He had many young children at home.

He had six children.

And he had the troubles at home.

He had an embattled life.

But he was known for his joy.

Just a little anecdote.

He was known for playing with his children when he got home.

Embattled but full of joy, this guy.

Victory came in 1807.

So one biographer described it this way.

The House of Representatives rose almost to a man and turned towards Wilberforce in a burst of parliamentary cheers.

Suddenly above the roar of hear, hear and quite out of order, three hurrahs echoed and echoed.

While he sat, head bowed, tears streaming down his face.

So that was when the trade was finally abolished.

1807.

And then he spent the rest of his life trying to make slavery itself illegal in Britain.

And he heard news that it finally happened three days before he died.

So he got that wonderful privilege of hearing that it had been undone.

Quite a fun fact.

He also started the RSPCA.

I thought that was interesting.

So I'll share that.

The seeds or the roots that undermined slavery was what is in the Gospel.

That's what initially inflamed this cause in Wilberforce.

And it's what strengthened him throughout much opposition.

It's what he called the peculiar doctrines of Christianity.

Not saying they're weird, but saying that they're distinct.

They're distinct from any other worldview.

What he meant by that was there's a direct link between how you see the world, the truth, and therefore how we should live.

And slavery just doesn't fit with those truths.

So things like people being made in the image of God.

Your worth isn't based on your utility or anything else.

But each person bears the image of God.

Human depravity.

He wasn't afraid of calling out his nation about how depraved the practice was.

He believed in divine judgment.

The substitutionary work of Christ on the cross.

Justification by faith alone.

And we could go on.

But these are the seeds that broke and undermined slavery then.

And they're the seeds that should be undermining forms of slavery that still exist today.

And they are planted.

These seeds, these deep roots, they're planted right here in this book of Colossians that talks about slavery.

So at this point, we need to distinguish a little bit between that slavery that Wilberforce fought to undo and ancient slavery back in the time of Rome.

Again, the Bible isn't endorsing slavery.

The seeds are right here to undo it.

But back then, slavery, it was more like a long-term employment.

It wasn't as barbaric, although it could be severe punishments.

I don't want to paint too rosy a picture here.

But a slave in the house of a governor, for instance, could have way more security and way more honour in society than a free, ordinary person.

So we've got to just make that nuance when we think of slavery here.

The other reason I raise Wilberforce as the introduction to this sermon on the workplace,

so I'm just going to make a leap here in terms of master slaves and to kind of those in authority and those who are employees.

But Wilberforce is interesting because when he became a Christian, he was not sure whether he should stay in politics.

Could he be a Christian and stay in politics?

He was really troubled by that and he was wondering, should he be devoted to something else, maybe going to church ministry?

And he went to John Newton, the guy who wrote Amazing Grace, for advice.

Now, that advice could have changed the direction of his life and praise God that Newton said, no, stay in politics.

You can serve the Lord Christ in politics.

So he's an interesting case in that he saw himself as a servant of Christ where he was planted in his position in politics.

So how about you?

Can you see yourself as a servant of Christ in the work you have to do?

How does knowing Christ transform your work?

When I talk about work today, I am going to be speaking in terms of employment.

But the principles, I think, can apply to unpaid volunteering and any social justice causes you're involved in.

I think in parenting, I think in caring for elderly parents and other care roles.

So the principles will apply, but as I talk today, I'll be mainly talking about employment.

So how can you be a Christian in your work?

I think we can come up with a few answers.

Taking evangelism opportunities with colleagues and clients.

Providing money for the family, because we're called to care for our families.

To earn money to give to the church and ministry here and abroad.

To earn money to give to those in need.

Balancing work commitments to free you up so that you can serve in church activities.

Now, I think these are the common answers I hear and I think of straight away.

And they're good and they're proper.

I don't want to dismiss those answers.

But I think there's a huge hole missing if that's all we say about how to be a Christian in work.

But as you write and send an email, as you write up that report, as you meet with that client, as you change the bedpan for that patient,

how does knowing Christ affect those day in, day out tasks?

Or do you leave Christ in the car as you walk into the office?

Or walk into the room at the end of the house, everyone working from home now.

But do we know how Christ fits in that?

Considering how much of our time and energies we spend in work,

I think that's a big hole if we can't see how Christ is Lord there as well.

We might think, just don't do anything unethical.

But surely it's more than that.

And it is more than that.

And this passage tells us.

Being full in Christ has a lot more to say than just don't do anything unethical.

Tim Keller in his really good book.

Today I can't cover the topic of work from a biblical point of view.

Tim Keller's book, Every Good Endeavour, I would really recommend it.

But he asked an interesting question in it.

He asked this question.

At the end of your life, will you wish that you had plunged more of your time, passion and skills

into work environments and work products that helped people to give and receive more love?

It's an interesting question.

Will you wish I gave more to work because you're a Christian?

It's an interesting question to consider.

I think if we don't see how fullness in Christ should overflow into our work,

then we're going to be in danger of trying to fill our souls with work.

Trying to use work to do something it just can't do.

Keller has the term, the work behind the work.

So work is hard.

The tasks are hard.

Living in this broken world is hard.

But the work behind the work is trying to fill up your sense of value as a person,

your sense of security, your sense of meaning.

If you're trying to use work to do that, that makes work really, really unbearably hard.

A Chinese-American comedian, Jimmy O. Yang, told his dad his desire to become an actor.

And his dad's response, he says, was this.

If you follow your dreams, you become homeless.

Everyone does what he hates to get money to then do what he loves.

He said it a lot funnier than I can say it.

But don't follow your dreams.

You become homeless.

No one does that.

Just use work, get money, and then fill up yourself with what you love.

Without Christ, we can undervalue work, seeing no meaning in it apart from that paycheck

to then fill our lives with family and security and leisure and whatnot.

And haven't we seen it lately?

COVID has exposed that, where we were pouring so much into work,

and now people are like, I want more work-life balance, actually.

It's swung.

People want to work from home and all those things.

The great resignation.

So many people resigned because they want more fulfilment.

They're just using work to fill up on things that they actually love.

Or more recently, there's the trend of quiet quitting.

People don't care about their work.

They want the paycheck, so they won't quit, but they just give a half...

I can't say that word.

They give a half effort.

Sorry.

They give...

They don't give...

Their heart isn't in it.

They quietly quit.

We still are full of rich...

Getting quick...

Rich...

I can't even get my words right today.

The schemes are out there.

The lottery is still alive and well.

So we can undervalue work, but we can also overvalue work.

Pinning much of our identity on it.

That this is who I am.

This will fill my sense of worth as a person.

You can do it in ministry.

My value as a person is because I'm a pastor.

That is wrong.

That is wrong.

And you need to remind me of that.

My value of a person is in Christ.

We can use work as if it gives us our security in this broken world.

Get enough money and you'll be safe.

No.

Get enough position in society and you'll be safe.

Or we can use it to fill our lives with meaning.

So we can undervalue work.

We can overvalue work.

And I think when we try to overvalue work,

trying to fill our buckets with work,

I think that makes success absolutely necessary.

Failure is devastating.

Weakness is shameful.

Because we have to have success to feel like a full person.

And if we think like that,

that can make immorality seem reasonable.

Maybe even the only option.

Like taking credit for other people's work.

Fudging the numbers just a little bit.

Exaggerating time frames so that you win the bid.

Being harsh on workers when things don't go to plan.

It can also lead to an imbalance of priorities,

of work and rest and family and church.

Perhaps we feel like we're struggling at home.

And so we overinvest in work because we can control that.

We can feel more fulfilled there when we should be pushing into the struggle at home.

And I think it can also lead to a distorted way of decision making.

Even in our work, we can evaluate the importance of tasks not based off the needs of people.

Because we're limited creatures.

We can't give all our energies to every single task.

Do we base the things we prioritise on the needs of people or what will fulfil me?

Don't we gravitate towards the tasks that just fulfil us when we overvalue work?

So we can't undervalue work.

We can't overvalue work.

And what we need is, therefore, to know the fullness of Christ.

And so how can we not become full but express fullness while working?

By setting our minds on things above, verses 1 and 4.

Similar to like we saw in the family structures last week.

Work is redeemed and restored to God's original design as his image bearers.

You can express fullness in Christ in whatever situation you're in right now.

Whether you're under authority or in authority or a mixture,

this is Christ's sovereignly chosen context for you to know fullness in him and express it.

This is where the rubber hits the road.

Whether we realise how full we are in Christ.

So in verses 1 to 4,

we're commanded to set our minds on things above.

If success in work validates who I want to be,

my sense of wellbeing will be a rollercoaster

or we'll just see work as a means to another end.

We'll be tempted to use people for our own sake.

But if I set my mind on things above,

we remember that I am chosen by God.

I am holy and loved.

That never changes, no matter what's going on in work.

My status is not greater because I have position and authority over others,

nor is my status diminished because I am an employee or apprentice or a student.

Because I have the highest status in the universe.

In the cosmos, I am in Christ, at God's right hand.

You cannot get higher.

I am a servant of the king of the universe.

I am a child with the greatest inheritance.

And I am not alone in my struggle.

His powerful grace is at work in me and through me.

His grace covers my sin and shame.

He helps me in my weakness and temptation.

So I have freedom not to be paralysed by weakness,

but to engage in the struggle for his glory.

My purpose in life is much bigger than my own story

to create a successful, comfortable, self-affirming kingdom.

My purpose is to be part of Christ's cosmic story

of reconciling all things to himself.

I am called to represent his grace where I am,

that the work I do redeems this little patch of his world.

I'm engaged in his cosmic plan of redeeming everything to himself.

My bucket is full to the point of overflowing,

and therefore, as verse 17 says,

whatever you do, in word or deed,

do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I am to be conscious of Christ's authority and his grace all the time.

I am to be representing that wherever I am.

I like how, again, I'll quote Keller here.

I'm leaning heavily on his book, but Keller puts it this way.

You are adopted into God's family,

so you already have your affirmation.

You are justified in God's sight, so you have nothing to prove.

You have been saved through a dying sacrifice,

so you are free to be a living one.

You are loved ceaselessly,

so you can work tirelessly in response

to a quiet and inner fullness.

It's out of fullness in Christ that work is redeemed.

So let's get into God's word.

How does this fullness in Christ overflow into the workplace?

Let's consider those under authority, the employee.

We're called to see past what you can see with your eyes

and see who you're really working for.

As you fill in that time sheet,

as you work from home,

as you're coming to the end of the day

and you just want to finish,

so you want to just cover over your mistakes

and just leave them as it is.

As you represent your company on a business trip,

as you make a sales pitch,

promising timeframes and things,

whose eyes are you working for?

Whose opinion of you is most important?

Are you conscious that you are doing all things for Christ,

that you are representing Christ as his servant?

This mindset lifts all work to a heavenly calling.

It doesn't diminish it.

It lifts it into the heavens.

Even the most unappreciated, difficult, dirty work,

you can be consciously working for Christ.

So what does this look like?

What motivates this kind of thinking?

Well, first, what it looks like.

It's done from the inside out.

Since the Lord looks at the heart,

it's wholeheartedness.

Because people only see what's on the outside.

So verses 22 and 23.

Bond servants, obey in everything,

those who are your earthly masters,

not by way of eye service, as people pleases,

but with sincerity of heart or wholeness of heart,

fearing the Lord.

Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men.

Accountability is a big problem these days with people working from home.

I heard the other day that one US company,

to try and fight this because they've got lots of employees,

the employees sign up to accountability where their camera on their screen

takes a photo of them every 10 minutes.

And they can record whether your keyboard has been used

or mouse has been used every 10 minutes.

If they don't see you at your desk,

you don't get paid for that 10 minutes.

That's a very law way of going about things.

It's a big issue at the moment.

But here's the real solution.

The Lord is always present.

Here's the real accountability.

The Lord has told us to obey those he's placed over us.

I don't think this means we have to be firing on all cylinders,

that Christ is there to go stop slacking off or whatever.

I don't think we're meant to think that way.

This is more about whose eyes we're conscious of,

Christ or people,

because we are so inclined to fearing people.

The Bible has lots to say on that.

If it's people, you're using work to fill your bucket,

either doing the bare minimum to get the money

or wanting to fill up your worth and security

with the opinions of your parents or superiors or colleagues,

comparing yourself to your colleagues.

But if it's the Lord you're serving,

it's going to be marked by integrity in every task,

transparency,

seeing your gifting as from God to serve him,

to be partnering with God in redeeming all the world.

I think this mindset also applies to which tasks we give priority to,

which we give our best efforts to.

For example, we might labour over a presentation

we've got to give to colleagues

because we care about our reputation,

so we spend so long on that task,

but then someone at work who is struggling

and needs some training,

we're not generous.

In the behind the scenes,

no one will notice if you help that person

with that training them up in that task.

Do you see how the fear of people

can push us in the wrong direction?

In over-emphasising.

Or we might rush and do a half-hearted effort for a small job

because a bigger paying client is waiting for us?

When we think of the eyes of people,

it will affect our decision-making.

Now, outcomes and what people see are important.

Like, I want my electrician to not leave an exposed wire

that could cause a fire.

Like, outcomes are important.

It's not just the inside that matters,

but outcomes alone aren't the only measure of faithfulness.

The Lord cares about the intentions and motives of the heart.

I think we need to remember this

because we can't always control the outcomes.

We can feel a sense of failure and shame

that isn't ours to carry.

We need to remember that we live in a broken world

which will affect the outcomes.

Like a medical specialist just can't find

or can't do anything about certain diseases.

That's just the brokenness of this world.

Or it's also broken in that there is too much good to do.

We can't do it all.

And we can feel ashamed that we haven't done enough.

We've only helped this one person

when there's a hundred more who need help.

But again, that's not ours to carry.

Work is broken in the sense that

even our good decisions can lead to unintended

bad consequences down the track.

We live in a fallen world,

so we can't just measure faithfulness on outcomes.

We need it.

God looks at the intentions, the wholeheartedness.

We need to remember we're waiting for the city built by God

where it seems in Scripture there will be work.

And work is just going to be full of joy.

This attitude also frees us, I think,

to receive work as a gift.

Not something we need to succeed at to prove ourselves,

but as a gift to enjoy, as Ecclesiastes talks about.

Instead of working for the eyes of people,

we are to fear the Lord.

To fear the Lord.

That phrase, we always need to define that

because it's not a cowering fear

that Christ is looking for reasons to get us in trouble.

That's not what it's saying.

Fearing the Lord is a response to his greatness.

It's a response to his grace to us.

So, for instance, in Psalm 130, verse 4,

Psalms 130:4

But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.

It's the forgiveness that motivates the fear.

Or this phrase in our passage,

with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

That same phrase is used by the prophet Samuel

just before he dies.

He urges Israel,

It's grace that motivates consciousness of God,

fearing him.

We don't want to displease the one who has lavished such goodness on us.

We don't want to displease him.

We're not afraid of him.

We just don't want to displease him.

That's what fearing means.

And this is super important

because we will be controlled by the one

we think has the ability to give us life.

If that's people or whether that's the Lord.

So the key here is the start of verse 24,

knowing.

This consciousness is knowing something

that will help us fear the Lord and not people.

So if we consider what earthly masters can offer us,

higher status in a promotion,

financial bonus,

owning shares in the company,

security of employment,

their approval,

perhaps public approval,

maybe more leisure,

more holidays.

They can offer us that.

Is that life?

Slaves back then,

the lodging,

the food,

the honour,

the kind treatment.

That's what a master here can give us.

Now compare that to what the Lord gives us.

Verse 24,

knowing that from the Lord

you will receive the inheritance

as your reward.

You will be part of the new heavens and earth.

Promotion

or belonging in God's forever kingdom?

Who do you think will give you life?

Because you'll serve the one

you think can give you life.

Now this inheritance,

we've already heard it in chapter 1,

verse 12,

we give thanks to the Father

who has qualified you.

So it's not our work

that means we qualify for work

for the new heavens and earth.

It's that the Father has qualified us.

It's knowing that

he's the one who gives us life

and so we fear him.

And notice the two,

the word inheritance.

So slaves had no right

to the inheritance.

But the Colossian slaves

were to be motivated

as sons and daughters of the king.

They have an inheritance.

They need to remember who they are.

The earthly incentive

can hold no sway

when you remember

all that we have

been given in Christ.

If you miss out now,

you're still rich.

How can you be

incentivised

to not live for Christ?

And on the flip side,

we fear the Lord

and not people

because he is the one

who punishes wrongdoing.

We shouldn't be threatened

by people

into disobeying Christ.

Now,

I'm not 100% sure

what this means.

It could be a few things

and it could be

all these things.

It could be remembering

that in this life,

it's Christ

who will dish out

the consequences

if we do wrong.

So it could be in this life

he dishes out

the consequences.

It could mean

that we will feel shame

on the final day

when we give an account

for our life.

If we're just investing

all this time

in business

in unethical ways

and for our selfish gain,

that's all going to be

burned away.

We will be saved

but that's going to be

burned away.

So maybe the punishment

there is that.

Maybe it's about

the masters.

Yes, you're being treated

unjustly at times

but remember

who is the avenger

of wrongdoing.

It's not you.

It's the Lord's prerogative

to avenge

the wrongdoer.

So you don't need

to cower

under your earthly master

because you know

they will face Christ

one day.

It could be all these things.

I'm not quite sure.

I think another implication

of these verses

is that if you're using work

to fill up your sense

of worth and security,

you can never rest.

You can't rest

because you'll lose yourself.

Even when you're

with your loved ones,

your mind is on

the job

or you feel guilty

for having that day off.

That's a sign

that you are trying

to fill your bucket

with something

other than Christ

because Christ

commands rest.

He's a just

and good

master.

He commands rest

for you

and he commands rest

for those under you.

And it's a way

of acknowledging

that I'm a creature.

I'm limited.

I don't make the world

go round.

Christ does.

So fearing the Lord,

not man,

will produce

two good fruits.

On the one hand,

it will give us

courage,

courage to live

for Christ

because he's the one

who gives us

the great reward.

You will follow him

even if it means

injustice and pain

because you know

that he's the one

who will hold

those doing the injustice

to account.

So we can't be

incentivized

to not live for Christ.

We can't be threatened

to not live for Christ

if we're fearing

the Lord,

not worrying

about the eyes

of people.

Okay,

so let's transition

then to those

in authority.

What if you're

in some level

of authority

at work?

What does fullness

look like?

You are to treat

those under you

as your master

treats you

with justice,

fairness,

not favoritism.

This doesn't mean

treating others

as equals

in authority.

I think in Australia

we try and flatten

all authority.

This isn't saying

that.

But it's treating

people

with justice

as image bearers,

as valuable

in the eyes

of God.

Be as Christ

to those

under your authority.

So do you

use your employees

like machines,

what you can

wring out

of them?

Do you use them

for their

output?

Only caring

what they can do

for you.

Because that kind

of mindset

will lead

to harsh

treatment,

not paying

wages on time,

creating a

culture

where everyone

feels ashamed

to use

their rightful

benefits

of days

off and things

like that.

Creating a

culture of

fear of failure.

I remember

one CEO

saying

in his

business

he would

not punish

people for

failing.

He would

get people

in trouble

if they

didn't ask

for help

when they

knew they

needed help.

One

makes people

cower

if they

get anything

wrong.

The other

encourages

people to

ask for

help and

to serve

one another.

I think

another way

we can

be harsh

with those

under

authority

is not

caring about

the whole

person,

the personal

state of

your workers,

not empathising

with them.

Their personal

life could be

really burdensome

and if we

just treat them

according to

the outcomes

of their work,

again,

I don't think

that's justice

and fairness.

We're to

treat as

Christ treats

us.

Or do

your employees

encounter

something just

out of this

world,

like Christ's

character,

compassionate

hearts,

kindness,

humility,

meekness and

patience,

seeking

reconciliation?

That would

stand out

if you're

in authority

with that

kind of

character.

So do

you apply

the same

expectations

and accountability

to believing

and unbelieving

employees because

Christ shows

no partiality?

I think in

Christian organisations

we can

unfairly expect

over and above

the agreed

work

simply because

they're Christian.

Again,

that's not

justice and

fairness.

do you

seek to

take into

account the

whole story

when a

conflict

emerges among

employees or

someone misses

a deadline,

makes an

error?

Do we

factor in

the whole

story?

I think

justice and

fairness can

mean sometimes

those deadlines

and things,

they're arbitrary.

They're not

absolutely

has to be

done.

It's that

bosses have

just set

this date

and your

employees haven't

met it.

Do you

factor in

the whole

story and

recognise that?

Do you

factor in

that your

employees

can't undo

the weeds

in work,

that work

is broken,

they can't

control the

outcomes any

more than

you can?

Do we

factor that

in?

Or to put it

positively,

do your

employees find

a safe

place to

thrive under

your authority?

They find the

character of

Christ a

safe place to

thrive,

treated as a

valued person,

not just a

cog in the

machine.

A Christian

in authority

will see their

worship of

Christ not

only in the

spiritual realm

or spiritual

activities,

they'll see it

in how they

represent God's

character to

those under

their authority

in the

workplace.

So Isaiah

58 says,

is not

this the

kind of

fasting I

have chosen?

To loose

the chains

of injustice,

to untie the

cords of the

yoke, to set

the oppressed

free and break

every yoke?

Is it not to

share your food

with the hungry

and to provide

the poor

wanderer with

shelter?

When you see

the naked,

to clothe them

and not to

turn away from

your own

flesh and

blood,

God cares

about how

you treat

people,

not just

the spiritual

spheres of

our life,

or to put it

differently,

everything's a

spiritual sphere.

We'll come to

that later.

So what will

motivate this

sort of thinking,

that I'm

representing my

master in

heaven, how he

treats me, I

want to treat

those under me?

What motivates

that?

Again is

knowing something,

knowing that

you also have a

master in

heaven.

You need to

think of

yourself as

sharing the

same position

as your

employees, under

the rule of

Christ.

Whether or not

they gladly

acknowledge Christ's

rule, all are

under the rule of

Christ.

Your authority is

derived from the

one with all

authority.

authority, so

use it to

represent him.

This should

produce humility,

I think, as a

co-slave of

Christ.

I think it also

means you have

the opportunity to

show the mercy of

Christ.

I think I've

told this story

before, but this

lady made a

mistake in her

workplace and it

just cost the

business a lot

of money.

Her manager, her

boss above her

went to the

superiors and he

took the blame

for it.

I think you can

do that in a

way that isn't

lying, that he

made the mistake.

He could say,

it was my call,

I signed off on

it, it's my

responsibility.

He took the

blame.

He copped the

flack, not her.

She probably

would have been

fired.

She was just

amazed by this.

Why did that

boss do that?

She went into

his office and

just pestered him,

why did you do

that?

Usually bosses

take the credit

for the good

things.

You just took

the blame.

Why?

Finally, he

got to explain

why, because I'm

a Christian and

Christ took the

blame for me.

What a wonderful

opportunity to

display what your

master in heaven is

like.

When things

don't go well,

that could be a

great opportunity

to show the

character of your

master.

So whether we

are under

authority or in

authority, we

are to be

thinking Christ,

representing him,

overflowing with

him, not trying

to use work to

fill ourselves

up.

So let me

finish with our

usual question.

What's going to

prevent us from

expressing this

fullness in Christ

into the workplace?

I just want to

raise two things

briefly.

What's perhaps

surprising about the

gospel is that

Christ doesn't

dismiss anything

that isn't done in

the church as

somehow less

spiritual.

Everything you

might see is

earthly, like the

plumber unblocking a

drain, or the

disability worker

showering and

clothing that

person who has

soiled themselves.

He lifts all that

up into the

heavens as if you

were doing this in

the heavenly temple

for his sake.

He lifts it all up.

It's all an act of

worship.

You are serving the

Lord Christ.

To only be conscious

of serving Christ in

the so-called sacred

sphere of church

activities is to

misrepresent the

gospel.

Christ is Lord of

the whole cosmos.

Everywhere.

All times.

We need to think

like that.

Not think of this

divide between

secular and sacred.

So let's help each

other.

Not see work as

some kind of

self-salvation, but

let's also urge and

pray and counsel

one another to be

overflowing Christ

where he has us.

He's given us work

to do.

He wants us to

represent him.

So let's not think

sacred, secular, but

all things are under

Christ.

And the second

thing that could keep

us from overflowing

in Christ in our work

is being concerned

with being unequal

in earthly things.

Either trying to

make sure that

everyone is equal

in authority and

wealth and so on,

or trying to

downplay these

differences, or

looking over our

shoulder and

comparing ourselves.

Where do I stand?

Am I above that

person or below?

If we're overly

concerned like that,

that's just not

gospel thinking.

being concerned

with wealth

differences and

education differences,

authority differences,

skills differences.

So what extent are

you rating your

position and worth

in this church

community?

Comparing yourself

to others.

I think it helps

to picture the

Colossians as they

gathered for worship.

Some of them slaves

in the household,

some of them

masters, and

what do we see

when they gather

for worship?

They are shoulder

to shoulder.

They're not two

classes of people,

they are one.

They are all

singing, all

worshipping together.

They are all

submitting to the

same Christ in

his word.

They're all members

of God's

household, not by

birth or social

position, not by

achievement, or by

belonging to God,

by pure grace.

It's a beautiful

picture.

Unequal and yet

they're not even

thinking about

unequal.

They're one in

Christ.

Christ is all

and in all.

So is that how

you see yourself

in this church

community?

We need to be

relating to each

other in that kind

of way because

that kind of

thinking will

propel us into

our working week

because we'll

know our fullness

is in grace and

not try and use

work to build up

achievements and

so on.

So let me finish

by saying, with

our buckets full

in Christ already,

our status is as

high as the

heavens are above

the earth.

Our reward is

richer than any

earthly currency.

We only show

our inner emptiness

if we try and

use achievements

or money or

position to fill

our sense of

worth and

security and

meaning.

That just shows

that you think

you're empty.

But that's not

the case.

We are full in

him.

The highest

position, the

highest reward.

We can rest

from the work

behind the work

of trying to

fill our empty

buckets.

Because Christ

has filled

our sense of

worth.

And then

that means the

proper value

of work is

redeemed.

Not undervaluing it,

not overvaluing it,

but the proper value

is redeemed.

As servants of the

Lord, empowered by

his spirits, we can

bear his image

in all we do.

Serving the

Lord wholeheartedly,

grateful for his

inheritance by

grace.

Passing on the

Lord's just and

caring treatment

of us to

those under

our care.

The fullness

of Christ

ought to spill

over into our

church life,

into our

families, and

into our work.

And there's a

very good reason

for that.

Because in

chapter 1, when

Christ says that

he will reconcile

all things to

himself by making

peace by the

blood of the

cross, he means

all things, including

our work.

We can be full and

show the world a

better way, a full

way, if we are

conscious, knowing

that we're doing all

things for Christ.

Will you pray with

me?

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Father, in a

sense, what we've

covered today really

is still only getting

to the theory and how

we should think.

And so I pray that for

each of us, in the work

you've given us to do,

whether paid or unpaid,

that you would be

counselling us in our own

mind as we talk to one

another in what it

specifically will look

like to be overflowing

the character of Christ

and the fullness we

have in you into where

you've placed us.

Help us to trust that

you are sovereign in

where you have us, that

this is where you want

us to know you better

and to display your

character where you

have us.

So please help us think

that way.

To the glory of your

name.

Amen.