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Whatsoever Ye Do
Text: Colossians 3:17-4:1
Serving the Lord can look like many things depending on where you are and who you are in life. If a wife, do this. If a husband, do this. If a child, do this. If father, do this. If an employee, do this. Whatever it is you’re doing, do it heartily as unto the Lord. It’s not necessarily what you do. It’s the kind of work you’re doing and who you are serving that makes the difference to God. Verses 23-25 explain why you do it.
Wives
- Serving the LORD can look like a wife who has a sweet spirit and is gracious.
- How appropriate and how contemporary it is that Paul had to deal with gender issues in a carnal church. GOD created them male and female. That was God’s decision.
- 1 Peter 3:1-6 Her power is in a meek and quiet spirit as it says in 1 Peter 3:5. Notice the phrase in verse 5 who trusted in God. Abigail wasn’t a good wife to Nabal because he was a good man. She was a good wife because she trusted in God.
- Strength of her decision to submit
- Not because her husband never makes mistakes.
- Not because her husband is perfect.
- Not because her husband always knows what he’s doing.
- But her strength of a sweet spirit comes from God telling her to do it.
Husbands
- Serving the LORD can look like a husband who loves his wife and treats her accordingly.
- Ephesians 5:25-30
- Sacrificial love
- So you’re not left with your own idea of love, the Holy Spirit directs you to the model of love the Lord Jesus Christ showed. as Christ loved… and gave himself
- Taking the lead in loving: We love him because he first loved us.
- Love is measured by its cost (1 John 3:16)
- Sanctifying love
- True love desires purity in the object of its affection (1 Corinthians 13:6). The purpose of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is to achieve purity in his bride.
- Jesus Christ’s love for his bride leads Him to do things necessary to sanctify her.
- Husbands should have a purifying effect on his wife.
- Strengthening love
- Husbands, your love should have the effect of building up, strengthening and growing your wife.
- Strengthening love is to give honour as unto the weaker vessel 1 Peter 3:7 – that your prayers be not hindered.
- This makes it very clear that God holds man responsible as the spiritual head of the home. He has treated you a certain way and then you turn around and treat your wife in a way you weren’t treated.
Children
- Serving the LORD can look like children who obey their parents.
- Do you want God’s will for your child? Obedience is God’s will for your child.
- Obey your parents because they’re always right? No.
- God is concerned with a proper order and structure.
- Luke 2:41-52 even Jesus was subject unto them. Now do you think there was ever a time in Jesus childhood when his mother Mary said something that wasn’t exactly right and he knew it? Don’t you think there were times when the Lord Jesus was maybe 18 or 19 and knew more about most things than his parents?
Fathers
- Serving the LORD can look like a dad who instills confidence in his children by caring for them.
- Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
- The word “but” is contrasting two ways a father can father his children. One way is to provoke them. The other is to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
- Wrath is emotional outburst. It’s a lack of emotional control. YOung people are stirred to uncontrolled emotions.
- ANTIFA or “Social Justice Warriors”
Servants (Employees)
- Serving the LORD can look like an employee who works as if he were working for the LORD. This is a good work ethic.
- Ephesians 6:5-8
- The ethic of pleasing God
- Singleness of your heart… (6:5) As unto the Lord means without duplicity or deception, but trying to please God.
- Luke 3:9-14 discontentment came from the money. John told people be content with your wages, quit trying to get something for nothing.
- The ethic of character
- not with eyeservice, as menpleasers… (6:6) As unto the Lord means the boss is always around!
- Remember Joseph in Genesis who was sold into slavery. Mistreated. Unjustly accused and handled all of it as unto the Lord. Until the day the Lord promoted him.
- Doing the will of God from the heart… (6:6) by doing the will of your boss.
- God’s will with your employment ensures these three things: you’re provided for, you have a natural opportunity to be a witness, and you have an alternative to sinning.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 your own business, your own hands.
- Ephesians 4:28, stop stealing and start working that which is good, work with your hands that he may have to give
- Titus 3:14 maintain good works for necessary uses…
- The ethic of a good attitude
- …with good will doing service… (6:7) As unto the Lord means your bosses attitude doesn’t matter
- Do your job with the best attitude you can muster as though you were working for the Lord Himself. Notice this is not to men. Why say that? Because men will be the stumblingblock whether perceived or real. The reason you won’t want to do what the Lord told you is because of a fault you’ll find in another man. So the Holy Spirit is careful to say, not to men.
- Alright, so we get it that your boss is crumby. But you’re doing what you’re doing because the Lord made it so. And it’s His order of things. So this is not to men.
Masters (Employers)
- Serving the LORD can look like an employer who treats his employees right because he will answer to God.
- Ephesians 6:9
- The ethic of service in authority
- …do the same things unto them… What were those things? Work with singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. Work not with eyeservice, as menpleasers… doing the will of God from the heart… Work with good will doing service, as to the Lord…Knowing that your reward is with the Lord…
- Luke 22:25-26 – the preparation for greatness in the Lord’s kingdom is service.
- The example is the Lord himself as the Master. The Master is Jesus Christ according to John 13:13-14 and notice his service.
- Do you know the things that made Joseph a good leader in Egypt were the same things that made him a good servant in prison?
- The preparation for greatness in the Lord’s kingdom is service according to Philippians 2:5-11.
- Peter Drucker said, “The man who stresses his downward authority is a subordinate no matter how exalted his title and rank. But the man who focuses on contribution and who takes responsibility for results, no matter how junior, is in the most literal sense ‘top management’.”
- Proverbs 30:21-22 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: For a servant when he reigneth…
- The ethic of accountability
- …knowing that your Master also is in heaven…
- You’re accountable to God for your treatment of subordinates.
- The principle here is that God is the restraint on authority. And abuse of power is carried out by self righteous people who have no fear of God. However, God will account for their abuse because He is not as impressed with their title as they are.
