Grace & Peace: A Journey Through the Book of Colossians - Part 6: Peace at Work | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshipping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website ecb .asia or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. We have been studying

the book of Colossians since the beginning of

July. And today is session six of the series.

Will you join me as I pray? Lord, when we open

your word, so often it feels as if you wrote

it just for us. Thank you for being so personal.

I'm asking you today that we'll be the same.

Speak to our lives no matter where we are in

our journey. And the things that you have envisioned

for us today, we welcome them. And will you use

me in your power and in your grace? I pray in

Jesus' name, amen. In this session six, we're

going to be talking about peace at work. And

the question, obviously, is do you have peace

at work? Or do you have anxiety, stress, and

depression? What we'll discover in this study

today is that peace at work has very little to

do with work itself. And it has much more to

do with the way you see yourself and whether

you have peace within you. Your context becomes

secondary. What we've discovered so far in the

book of Colossians is that the apostle Paul explained

to the first Christians in the first century,

this was the first generation of Christianity,

In the history of the world. And as he writes

to these Christians in the city of Colossae.

He tells them look. You have to understand that

when Jesus saved you. He transferred you from

the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.

And at that moment he reconciled you completely

with God. All your sins 100 % forgiven. Paid

by Jesus himself. So you don't need. To live

in fear. In fear of rejection. You don't need

to try to help Jesus save you. No. He did it

all. You just need to be rooted in him. And let

his grace. And his peace. Just be in your life.

So be rooted in Jesus. Experience his grace and

his peace as a recipient. Because once you're

able to experience it as a recipient. You will

discover that grace does not stop with you, flows

through you. And what Jesus wants is for you

to experience his grace and his peace in you

and through you into your relationships, as we

discovered last week, also into your home life,

and as we will discover today, also in your work

life. What was the challenge that the Colossians

were facing? That causes the Apostle Paul to

have to write all of this content to them about

this topic. Well, to understand the context,

we have to go back to understand the historical,

cultural context of the church of Colossae. The

Colossians were mainly Gentiles that lived in

the Roman Empire. And even though there were

some Jews in the community as well, this was

not a Jewish city. And part of the Greco -Roman

world, it was shaped by the social structures

that they had already created. This is what we

studied last week, the concept of pater familias,

where there was a very hierarchical order that

was based on power, control, and fear. And this

permeated the way the family life worked, but

also the way society worked. And within this

social structure, there was a legalized system

of slavery that was one of the economic engines

of the Roman Empire. There's a word the Bible

used to describe this group of people in the

sector of society. It's doulos. Servant, bondservant,

slave. Perhaps you have heard this word doulos

in some ministries. Some ministries use that

name as the name of their ministry. This is where

it comes from. It's the word doulos, servant,

slave. But this group of people... Was a large

sector of the Roman Empire. It is estimated that

between 10 to 20 % of the Roman population. Were

doulos or slaves. And the way people enter into

this category. Was either through the conquests.

These were prisoners of war that were brought

into the Roman Empire. As the empire was expanding.

Or there were people that were in debt. and enter

into these arrangements where they gave the ownership

of their lives to a master, and now that master

had all the legal power over their lives, whether

it be temporary or for life. Because most slaves

had the opportunity to buy their freedom. And

this slavery, in contrast to some other modern

contexts of slavery, was not linked to a particular

ethnicity or caste. Anybody. Could become a slave

in that sense. Even a Roman. But there were some

also that became slaves because of their crimes.

And this was their punishment. And they would

be slaves for life. There was no way out. And

all this sector was so large that through some

studies it's considered that Italy itself was

perhaps 30 % of the population were slaves. And

therefore these doulos, they were under the authority

of the master or the Lord. And the word the Bible

uses for this is the word Kyrios. Now that is

also a word that you might find in some ministries.

There are some publications called Kyrios. It's

because this is the word that the Bible uses

to describe the concept of master. And it's used

for God as the Lord. So every time that we pray,

oh Lord. In Greek, you will be using this word,

Kyrios. And it was the word for the master who

had legal ownership of the slave. So there was

Kyrios and this slave relationship. Now, we know

because of ancient writings how all of this thing

worked. And there were... into these categories

that spread out all through different professions

in the financial system of society. So you have

laborers and forced labor on the one extreme.

These were people working on agriculture, on

the fields, on the mines. And then you have people

working at home. They were taking care of cleaning.

They were taking care of the kids. Then you have

more skilled professionals. You had teachers.

You had people working in finance. You had people

working in the medical field. And then you have

even higher positions, people that were working

on administration of big, large properties. And

all of these different sectors were populated

by the workforce of the doulos. If you look at

some of the writings, you will find something

like this. With Aristotle, for instance, on the

4th century before Jesus. Because the Greco -Roman

world laid the foundation for the New Testament

time. And this was the mindset that permeated

the way Christians, the first Christians, the

world was like. Look at what Aristotle says.

The first and smallest parts of a household are...

Master and slave, husband and wife, father and

children. And that's why, as we are reading Colossians,

you notice last week that it's addressing all

these hierarchical orders in society. Then, you

also have the attitudes that you know that people

were going to have in society towards each other.

And the attitude that many people had towards

the slaves is not something that you have to

guess. It's actually documented. Some of these

people wrote about it. Aristotle wrote about

it himself. And he says this, some men are by

nature free and other slaves, and that for the

latter, slavery is both expedient and right.

In other words, for some people, their place

in society was meant to be a slave. That's where

you belong. That is your position where you were

born for. So for some, slavery was not just a

temporary thing. It was your destiny. Now also

the way they thought of some of the slaves is

very interesting. A slave is a living tool just

as a tool is an inanimate slave. You're just

a tool. That's all you are. And there's another

writer that writes about this. His name is Varo,

and that's now from the first century. Now we're

talking about the time of contemporary to the

Colossians. And look at what he says. Slaves

are the speaking tools. Oxen are the bellowing

tools. And carts are the silent tools. You are

just a talking tool. That's all you are. You

have no rights. I have power over you. I'm your

master and you're here to serve me. So just do

what I say. You are just a tool. And even though

in the time of the Roman Empire, in the time

of the early church, the concept of slavery as

an economic legal system was so embedded in Roman

culture that... Not about to really question

the structure of it, but some people start questioning

the way people were treated. And we do have one

of the rarest quotations about this in a letter

that another person wrote. His name is Seneca.

And what he writes is this. Look, yeah, there

are slaves, but they're also human beings. They're

slaves, but they also share the same breath,

the same life, the same death. They are people,

like we are. And he was just making a comment.

He was not advocating for the end of slavery.

But it was Christianity that challenged this

order of legalized slavery that eventually became

the foundation for the complete abolition of

it. So the attitudes that you can see building

into this give us completely the background for

understanding Colossians. Because Colossians

and the letter of Philemon, as we noticed, came

hand in hand. Now, I know that some of you have

not been in the previous studies. We covered

some of this in session one. But let me just,

for your sake, give you a little summary of the

background. Because the Apostle Paul was in Rome

in prison when he wrote this letter that we are

studying now. And the way this came up... was

that he's in prison and he meets a guy called

Onesimus who was a slave who had escaped from

his master. And Onesimus now is there with Paul,

hears the message of the gospel, now believes

in Jesus. And Paul finds out that the master

of this Onesimus slave was a guy called Philemon

who was a friend of Paul. So this guy was a Christian.

Who attended a church in this town of Colossae.

And Paul knew the founder of that church. Who

was Epaphras. And Epaphras comes to Rome to visit

Paul. And tells him everything that is going

in that church of the Colossians. So Paul says,

you know what? Onesimus, you have to go back

there. Connect with that church. I'm going to

send a letter to Philemon. But I'm also going

to send a letter to the Colossians. And he decides

to send Tychicus with the letters and with Onesimus

and then they go. So at the core of what's going

on in this church of the Colossians was a relationship

among masters and slaves. One of them Philemon

and the other one Onesimus. So now you can start

imagining how Onesimus was thinking of himself

as he has escaped his master and gone all the

way to Rome. I imagine, I just can't imagine

the Apostle Paul talking to Onesimus because

right now, based on the studies of psychology,

psychiatry, and counseling field, We understand

much better what are the struggles that people

have that have come out of human trafficking,

have come out of slavery, or are the descendants

of slaves. And there's an emotional dimension

that works in their lives that now we understand

better. And there are some of these tendencies

that you start hearing. If you are just a tool,

you're useless. Imagine hearing things all the

time. That's why you can understand the language

now when Paul writes to Philemon and he says,

hey, formerly Onesimus was useless to you, but

now he has become useful. You see the language

of just these tools? That's what they are. And

he says he's useful now both to you and to me.

This Onesimus that escaped, now he came to know

Christ. He is your brother in Christ now. So

now you will have to start thinking of him differently.

Perhaps the reason he was separated from you

for a little while was that you might have him

back forever. Yes, Paul, I want him back forever.

That's his place. But what he means is no longer

as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear

brother. He is very dear to me, but even dearer

to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother

in the Lord. What? Onesimus, my brother, he's

just a talking tool. That's all he is. What are

you talking about? Can you start sensing how

revolutionary the message of the Apostle Paul

is to the social order? The attitudes that the

Greco -Roman world had towards these people and

the system that had built the economy, Of the

empire. Was rooted on this mindset. If I were

to ask Onesimus. Onesimus who are you? I am just

a living tool. A talking tool. And who do you

serve? Well my owner of course. And what is your

goal in life? My goal in life? Survival. I am

just trying to survive. That's all. Get to the

next day. And hopefully one day gain my freedom.

That's it. Therefore you can understand. What

we now understand with the study of psychiatry

and psychology. Is the idea that undermining

all of these functions. There was an internal

world that the person was wrestling with. Feelings

of low self -worth, anxiety, insecure attachment,

PTSD, which is the post -traumatic disorder.

Imagine if they had become conquered and brought

as captives and now they are slaves. Can you

imagine all the trauma that they came from? Internalized

inferiority. Yes, I am my role. That's all I

am, a tool. And you start feeling like that.

That's all you are. Dissociation, social withdrawal,

shame, loneliness, all of these different things

going inside the person's heart. That's why the

three main challenges that they are facing is

this identity crisis, thinking that I'm just

a tool. The value crisis, thinking that I'm not

good enough, maybe I deserve to be in this position.

And the hope crisis. Life has no meaning. There's

no purpose. I am just breathing and surviving

day by day. These were the people that became

Christians in the first century. And now the

gospel is reaching them, not only so that they

can die and go to heaven, but now the apostle

Paul wants these Colossians to experience God's

grace. And what else? In the place of all that

woundedness that the social structure has created.

That's why the Apostle Paul will take time to

write to these Christians in Colossae, but not

only then, but in other places as well. If you

look at this map, this is the Roman Empire during

the time of the Apostle Paul. You can see some

of the arrows for some of his missionary trips.

But here what I want you to see in all of these

arrows that I put in there, if you go from your,

let me see, your left, and you see the area of

Galatia, then you have the area of Colossae,

then the area of... Philippi, and then all the

way to the other side in Athens and the Greek

area, you have Corinth. And the Apostle Paul

writes to all of these Christians in all of these

places about this concept. Do you have peace

at work? And because the social economic structure

was this, He's going to say something to all

of them. And before we get into Colossians itself,

I want you to see what he tells each one of them.

To the Corinthians first, starting on that side

of your screen, he's going to address the issue

of status. And he says, look guys, were you a

slave when you were called to follow Jesus? Then

don't let it trouble you. Although if you can

gain your freedom, do so. Yeah, it is better

to be free than to be a slave, so work for it.

But if you are a slave, don't worry about that,

because that is not who you are. For the one

who was a slave, when called to faith in the

Lord, is the Lord's free person. So you are truly

free in Christ. Your circumstances do not determine

who you are. But at the same time, the one who

was free when was called to follow Jesus is Christ's

slave anyway. So you may be free, but you still

have a master and you are still a slave to that

master, except that that master is Jesus. So

he addresses these people and he starts addressing

their status because the way they think of themselves

has to change. Not only the slave, but the master.

Both of them have to redefine who they are. And

the role in their society is not who they are.

Who they are in Christ is who they are. So you

were bought at a price. Do not become a slave

of human beings. If you are free, don't sell

yourself into slavery. No, you are already free

in Christ. So he simply addresses these things

to help them understand, yeah, the social structure

is complicated, but who you are is not. You are

a doulos and you have a kyrios. Jesus is your

Lord. He is your master. And because he is your

Lord and he is your master, you are a servant

whether you are legally free or not. So you have

to start thinking about yourselves from that

perspective. And that's what he tells the Corinthians.

Now, what does he tell the people there on the

other side in the churches of Galatia? He addresses

the concept of hierarchy in this new community

in the church. And he says, look guys, now that

you have come to know Christ, you are a new community.

Jesus is our master. And because this is true,

in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God

through faith. Now you are one family in Christ.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourself with whom? With Christ.

Now you belong to him. You are rooted in Jesus.

He is your Savior. He is your Lord. You are his

child. Now you are his servant. Therefore, when

we're talking about our community, there is no

Jew and Gentile, slave, free, male, female. No.

We don't function in that hierarchy that your

social system has created. No. I mean, there

are still Jews and Gentiles. There are still

men and women. I mean, they still exist. But

in the body of Christ, they're not hierarchies.

Because we are one. In Christ Jesus. Therefore.

That is who we are. And now to the Colossians.

He's going to focus. On helping them understand.

Their attitude. Towards their work. Both. To

the one that is. The doulos. And to the one that

is the curios. And he's going to address both

of them, and he's going to tell them, this is

what you need to keep in mind. If you want to

experience God's peace, regardless of what your

social status is, regardless of what your circumstances

are, this is what you need to be focused on.

And now, I really want to know what he tells

them. Which is very interesting. Last week when

we were doing this study, we looked at Colossians

and then we looked at Ephesians. And what he

told them about the family unit, marriage and

parenting was almost identical. And now when

you read Colossians and then you look at Ephesians

again, he almost repeats the same thing word

by word. It's fascinating. And once you see the

map, it makes sense. Ready to know what he tells

the Colossians? So here we go. Chapter 3. Slaves,

obey your earthly masters in everything. Do it,

not only when their eye is on you and to win

their favor, but with sincerity of heart and

reverence for the curious. The curious. The Lord

Jesus. If you have not invited Jesus into the

realm of your life, and if you have not realized

that actually He is the Lord, then the first

things that you need to do if you're going to

experience God's peace in your life at work is

to realize That Jesus needs to be invited into

that space. So that everything that you are doing.

You are doing it for whom? For him. Not for Philemon.

You're not working for Philemon Onesimus. You're

working for Jesus. And the other thing Onesimus.

Don't do what everybody else does. You know all

the other people that work for this guy. Do it

that way. When he walks by, oh, let's work because

he's watching. Show yourself busy, you know.

And so with you, you are working for the one

that sees you all the time. So what you are going

to do is that you are going to work with your

heart in everything you do. Yeah, but he doesn't

deserve it. Yeah, he doesn't, but he does. And

you're working for Jesus. And also, whatever

you do, you will work at it with all your heart.

Not halfway. Not just another day surviving.

No. You will do everything that you do with all

your heart as working for the Lord, not for man.

Because you know what? You may not have any legal

rights here in this Roman system. But in the

kingdom of Jesus, that Philemon is your brother.

And you're going to be together forever in the

new kingdom. And when Jesus comes back, you're

going to be glorified. And you will receive something.

You know that you will receive an inheritance

from the Lord as a reward. Philemon. Onesimus,

you guys need to change the way you are thinking

about your lives and your work. Onesimus, do

you realize that you will receive an inheritance

from the Lord? That the way you are serving him

here and now has eternal impact? What do you

mean? What inheritance? What are you talking

about? He doesn't say. He doesn't explain. So

I'm not going to try to tell you what he didn't

say. But, can you imagine a guy that was told

you are just attacking tools, so shut up. Just

do what I say. You have no rights in this place.

To hear the Apostle Paul is addressing me? Nobody

addresses me. I'm just like a fly on the wall.

And he's writing a whole section to me? Wow.

He's telling me that he's not my master, but

he's my master. Oh, I feel a little bit better

now. He's telling me that I'm going to receive

an inheritance. I cannot even own land in my

own place here, but I, oh, the way I serve Jesus

here now has impact in eternity. Now you got

my ear. Remember, It is the Lord Christ Jesus

you are serving. He never said that you are just

a talking tool. You are his child redeemed by

the blood of Jesus. So if you want to experience

his grace and his peace in your work, yeah, if

you can be free, great. But the problem is not

your external freedom. The problem is your attitude

of your heart. And that is where you need to

invite Jesus. To transform and to heal. So that

you can experience his peace. Flowing through

you in whatever you do. Whatever you do. Now

Philemon I want to talk to you too. Both of you.

Because look. If you choose to do the wrong thing,

then there's consequences. You will be repaid

for your wrong, and there's no favoritism. So,

do what is right. But for you, Philemon, the

curious here in this relationship, I have something

to tell you. Masters, provide your slaves with

what is right and fair. Because you know that

you also have a... Master in heaven. You think

that you are the man here. That you are the curious.

It's like no. You have a curious. And that's

Jesus. So he is your master. And if he has given

his life for you. To give you what you needed.

You need to treat. Those working for your estate.

With what is right. And what is fair. Because

you're also. A slave serving a master. And whatever

you do, work at it with all your heart because

it is the Lord Christ Jesus. You are serving

not your investors. Wow. And Paul, you addressed

the slaves before you addressed us masters. He

is redefining the whole picture. No wonder. They

were not experiencing peace at work because they

were trying to simply imitate the social structure

that they had inherited rather than change their

mindset and embrace their identity as people

who belong to a new kingdom, the kingdom of Jesus.

And here you have it. You can now understand

how revolutionary this was. And how eventually

it did become the foundation for the abolition

of slavery. For the Roman it was simple. I am

the master. I own you. I have power. And my job

is to subdue you. And to govern you. You have

no agency. You are just a slave. And now Paul

comes and redefines that mindset. He says not

so. That way. Actually, there's only one master

in this relationship. His name is Jesus. He is

the Lord that both of you are serving. So if

you have a master -servant relationship, what

you need to remember is that you master, you

do what is fair and right for the person working

for you. Because you're accountable to Jesus.

But the person working for you, you work out

whatever you're doing with all your heart because

you're also accountable to Jesus. And this is

how it works in the kingdom. And until we get

it, we will never be able to experience grace

and peace at work. Because look, I understand.

The contrast is just astronomic. It's just so

unimaginable for their time in history. Now when

Onesimus comes back from Rome and comes back

to the Colossians, if you ask him, Onesimus,

who are you? Well, I'm a servant of Jesus. And

who is your master? Well, Jesus, no offense.

Philemon. But Jesus is my master. And what is

your goal? Well, I already learned from Paul.

Eternal impact. I am looking for that inheritance.

I know what I do now has that impact. Complete

transformation. I know I'm not a slave, nor are

you. At least, of people. But do you realize

that you and I are doulos of Aquirios? You are

a servant, whether you realize it or not. And

you have a Lord and his name is Jesus. And if

you are not going to align your identity with

the Lord in whatever you do, you will be able

to start identifying with Onesimus so much. Because

the way you will start thinking about yourself

and your function and the emotions that are going

to be inside of you will be nothing of grace

and peace. You will be able to identify with

all these things. Let me just ask you. Are you

in the middle of an identity crisis where you

feel like, you know, I'm just nothing. I'm just

a position. I do not feel seen or heard. People

don't treat me like a person I am. Did you feel

invisible? Hmm. What about this? The value crisis.

When was the last time that you tried to convince

yourself that you are good enough because that

nagging feeling, I'm not good enough. I'm not

good enough. Have you been struggling with that

feeling? How about the hope crisis? Waking up

one day before you go to work and you think,

what's the purpose of life? Another day at work.

What's the meaning of all of this? Are you feeling

hopeless? Like you are just in survival mode?

You see, you don't have to be onesimus and be

in that social context to start struggling with

all of these things. How about the other stuff?

Do you feel low self -worth? Do you feel anxiety?

When was the last time you had an anxiety attack?

At work. Do you feel insecure attachment, your

ability to establish meaningful relationships

always suffers? Are you struggling with stress,

with internalized inferiority, with dissociation?

Are you withdrawing socially, feeling shame or

loneliness? Welcome to Onesimus' world. I don't

mean his cultural world, his internal world.

And this is where Jesus wants to meet you today.

Because you and I need to understand the same

thing that Onesimus had to understand. That so

far you've been blaming your context. You've

been blaming your boss. You've been blaming your

parents. You've been blaming your country. But

what if the secret to experiencing God's peace

and grace. Has nothing to do with that. But everything

to do with inside. And the way you think of yourself.

And the way you let Jesus align your identity

with his. Is the secret. For that grace and peace

to start outflowing from you. Wouldn't that be

a game changer? That's why. I want to read this

again, but not from Onesimus' perspective, but

from my perspective here today and now. Will

you read it aloud with me? Whatever you do, work

at it with all your heart as working for the

Lord, not for man, since you know that you will

receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

It is the Lord Christ Jesus you are serving.

It's like, boom, boom, boom. It's like, it hit

me everywhere, you know? It's like, really, you

have to say that? I think that we all need to

have a little time of truth here. Who are you?

Well, I, I'm an architect. I work. No, no, no.

That's your job. That's your title. Who are you?

Well, you know, I don't know. I just graduated

from college. No, no, that's your degree. Who

are you? There's only one answer to that. I'm

a doulos of Jesus Christ. I'm a servant of Jesus.

That's who I am. Redeemed by his grace. I belong

to him. I belong to his kingdom. He's my king.

And I live here to serve him. Who are you? Do

you see yourself as a servant of Jesus in everything

you do? Even the work you hate? Because that

is the beginning of transformation. The peace

will come from aligning ourselves with the Lord.

And one of the funny things is that we have the

tendency to link our identity to what we do.

And that doesn't escape any of us. In my own

journey, I remember that the way it clicked.

It was just in the transition when ECB invited

us to come to work here from Dallas. Because

I had been working in Dallas for 18 years in

our church there. And I had a very specific role.

I was the senior pastor of our church. And when

I was going to come here, it was not to be a

senior pastor. It was to have a supporting role.

And I remember that when I started feeling compelled

that this was something that was... God was calling

us to do, what I started wrestling in my prayer

was, but God, I'm a senior pastor. How am I going

to go to a place and not be a senior pastor?

This feels like a downgrade. And it happens that

during that time I was reading Philippians, when

the Apostle Paul, again, talking to us, Says

your attitude should be the same one as Jesus.

Who did not consider to be equal to God or something

to hold tight to. But he took the form of a servant.

A doulos. And when I was reading that. It hit

me. I'm not a senior pastor. That was my role.

I'm a servant of Jesus. What freedom. That was

easier to do. It's like I'm not letting my identity

go. I'm just changing functions. Roles. Titles.

But in the kingdom of Jesus. He moves you around.

Your job is just temporary. But your identity

is not. But it's easier said than done now. It's

like. Going through that, it was really an emotional

place where God had to meet me there and it had

to click in my heart. Today I can say positions

don't matter. Titles don't matter. What matters

is that I am where God wants me to be, doing

what he called me to do because he is the master

that I'm serving. And I had to learn that. But

you know one of the times in which we feel the

crisis the most? It's when you actually lose

your job and you have no job at all. If you have

no job, then what are you? A loser? Unemployed?

No, that's not your identity either. If you are

in that stage in which you are transitioning

jobs, there's something I have to tell you. It

is very common for people that are in that space

of transition to have this wrestling. And there's

this very simple book called Still Looking. It's

written by a Christian from testimonies of Christians

that had to go through this transition of losing

their job and all the wrestling that they went

through. And one of the things that they discover

is that the process you go through emotionally

is very similar to the process of grieving. First

you go through denial. It's like, no, this cannot

be happening to me. To anger, it's like, I can't

believe they did this to me. Who do they think

they are? To bargaining. God, if you give me

a job, I'm going to start tithing 50 % of my

salary. To depression. Keep rejected. Nobody's

going to hire me. I'm in my 50s now. I'm not

competitive anymore. To acceptance. Lord, you're

the one I work for. If you haven't provided a

job for me yet, that's fine. I know you care

for me. You give to me at the right time. So

as I wait, just strengthen me. Very different.

If you are in that journey, remember who you

are. You are not your job. You are not your title.

You are a servant of Jesus Christ. First thing.

Second thing. Whom are you working for? Are you

working to please people and impress people?

Are you working for your boss? Or are you working

really for Jesus? Because when you are working

for Jesus, suddenly everything gets redefined.

Next time that you try to do something crooked

or underhanded, you know that Jesus is watching.

And the Holy Spirit is going to convict you and

you're going to start feeling like, you know,

even if you cover your ears, still there. You

are serving somebody else. Have you made the

transition? Perhaps today is the time to come

to God and say, God, I've been blaming my boss

and I feel so upset with this guy. But today

you have told me that you are my boss and I had

never even thought. That I'm working for you.

That never crossed my mind. I thought that working

for you was, you know, helping with the children's

ministry on Sunday at ECB. But my job? Who is

really your boss? And the third question is,

what is your goal at your job? To get the next

promotion? Hey, better paycheck? Oh, that's good

and cool, especially if you give some of your

resources to do our ministry here. But you know

what? That is not what is our goal. A servant

has only one goal towards the master and it's

to do everything I do to please you. Everything.

And here, As servants of Jesus, we are living

for kingdom impact. Not for career impact. Kingdom

impact. And therefore, it's a time for us to

come to God and say, God, I had never even thought

about how you want to use my career. My retirement.

How you want to use my time for kingdom impact.

I have not even asked you about that. And now

it hits me. I'm your servant. My career is yours.

I want to use it for your glory. Lord, would

you lead me? That's why I love a story I want

to share with you. There's an actor in the U

.S. Famous because he has a brother that is also

an actor. So he's a family of actors. His name

is Stephen Botwin. And today he's a Christian,

but he wasn't a Christian. He didn't grow up

in a Christian home. He was an actor in Hollywood

pursuing his career as an actor. And as he tells

his story, he says, you know what? My life before

Christ was focused on making money and existence

of self -absorbance. It was all about me, money,

money. And I was making a lot of good money in

my career at that time. Lots of movies and contests

that he was doing. But he says, we moved to this

house. And somebody recommended this cleaning

lady that we hired to work for us. So there she

would come to clean our house. Do you have a

maid at home? That cooks for you? That cleans

your house? That was his case. Just a maid. But

he started noticing something. This maid, every

time she came to clean, she would sing. But every

time that she would sing, all the songs that

she was singing were songs about this guy, Jesus.

And because Stephen was not a Christian, he didn't

believe in all this nonsense. One day he talked

to her and said, you know, I see you happy all

the time singing these songs, but I can't help

but notice that all of them pretty much talk

about Jesus. I'm just curious, do you have more

songs in your repertoire that do not talk about

that? And at that moment, she looked at him and

she started laughing. Like laughing. And she

tells him something that he will never forget.

You think that the reason why I come here is

to clean your house? She was a servant of Jesus.

She was not there to clean houses. She was there

for Kingdom Impact. Her name, Augusta. And one

day, Stephen's wife comes and says, you won't

believe what Augusta just told me. She told me

that the reason why she's coming here is because

God told her that one day you and I are going

to become followers of Jesus. And we're going

to have our own ministry. Now the one laughing

was Stephen. That's ridiculous. We'll never become

religious people. Kingdom impact. You know what

the last thing he says in his testimony? Today

my life is God's life in me. To what he wants.

Do you think that you are in your office. To

work for them. Do you think that you are taking

that airplane. That flight. To attend a business

meeting. Could it be that if Jesus is really

your Lord. He has bigger plans. And kingdom impact

may mean that he is going to put you with someone

in that flight. So that you can meet them in

their time of need. Because they have never met

someone who loves Jesus. Could it be. That you

are not there just to clean houses. I think the

answer is yes. What Paul tells us. Is that whatever

we do. We're doing it for our true master. And

we're going to do it for kingdom impact. And

when it clicks in the heart. That is when the

grace and peace of Jesus will start flowing through

you. Into everything you touch. And one day there

will be someone that will praise God. Because

you were in their lives. In that job. Because

Jesus had placed you there. And they could see

in you something that they saw in no one else.

Jesus in you. So I would like to conclude this

study by just telling you a couple of things.

First, remember, we have a new master, a new

attitude, and a new purpose. And that is the

secret of peace in our work. So, if you are in

this context, I want to remind you that we are

going to offer a course that is just eight weeks.

It's called Resolving Everyday Conflict. And

it's to equip you to know how to engage with

difficult people. Yes, at work. Or at home. And

how to deal with conflict in a godly way. This

is going to be coming soon. We are going to offer

it here. Sundays. When the registration is open.

Go and register for it. It will equip you. To

be someone. That is a blessing to your team.

Also. If your work is affecting your marriage.

And all the stress you are. Is affecting your

home. Remember. We have the marriage course coming.

At the end of the month. So go for that. We'll

equip you. Also. To deal with these things. So

the bottom line question, is Jesus the Lord of

your career? Because if you have not invited

him to be the Lord of your career, now is the

time to do it. Lord, we rightfully call you that

because that is who you are. Our master. And

we live for you. If we have been wrestling because

we have not invited you to really be the Lord

in our work. To be the Lord of our careers. Today

we acknowledge that and we repent for it. No

wonder we have not peace. Because we have inherited

a worldview that is different from yours. And

today we're asking you Lord. Help us see through

your eyes. Yes, it will be great to have a different

environment at work. But Lord, today we understand

that it's not about the environment outside,

but the environment within. Would you let your

peace govern our hearts and bring the healing

that we need. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If

God is calling you to support our ministries,

you will find giving options on our website.

And remember to join us next week. God bless

you.