starting in verse five. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling and singleness of your heart as unto Christ. Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. with goodwill doing service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And you masters do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is there any respect of persons with him. We come to this section in Ephesians, and for the last several weeks and months, really, we've been looking at the spirit-filled life. Back in Ephesians chapter five, in verse 18, Paul says, be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing, making melody in your heart, and he continues to go on. And then what Paul does is he takes that principle, that overarching principle, being filled with the spirit, and he starts to apply that and show what that would look like in some specific situations, some specific instances, or some specific institutions, however you want to think about that. And as Paul is unfolding this principle, there are some constant underlying realities that are present, whether we're talking about husbands and wives, whether we're talking about children and parents, or whether we're talking about servants and masters. Okay, one thing that you'll notice and we'll see Paul gets a little clearer here and I say a little clearer, he makes some statements that are a little more plain as he wraps up his illustration as to what it would be like to live a life that is constantly habitually brought under the influence of the spirit or as we said when we were there and seeing what it meant to be filled with the spirit, bringing ourself habitually under the influence of the word of God, right, the spirit-inspired word. The section here that we are ending this morning is really one of the richest sections in scripture when it comes to the Christian life, when it comes to asking the question, what would it look like for me to live and to grow in Christian character, to reflect the image of Jesus Christ in my day to day? One of the things, again, that we see that's pretty apparent is that if we're gonna bring glory to Jesus Christ in the church, then that means we're gonna be seeking to bring glory to Jesus Christ in every area of our lives. The ones that seem to be important, the ones that seem to be spiritual, that seem to be more pious, and then the ones that just seem to be everyday life. It's, It's easy, it's almost natural for us to have this idea and to have a life that reflects this idea. that our commitment to the Lord is strengthened on Sunday, and our conversation reflects that on Sunday, and the way that we present ourself reflects that on Sunday, or whenever we gather together, whether it's a Sunday or a Wednesday, but then when we get into everyday life, it just seems like it floats, it drifts, it's maybe not as applicable. But one of the things that we're gonna learn today is that you can honor God and you can bring God glory by showing up to work every day and doing what your boss requires you to do. That doesn't sound that holy, does it? That doesn't sound like a spiritual discipline, does it? It might sound more holy if you could hide out in the break room and read your Bible for eight hours, but it's not. It's not. God's will for you in the workplace to reflect the work of Jesus Christ in your heart is that when you are working, when you are on the job, you're doing what your boss has asked you to do. And for bosses or masters here, bosses, when you are interacting with your employee, that you're obviously still in charge, but you're looking out for their good as well. You're not trying to take advantage of them. You're not trying to put them in a situation that's bad for them. Now, an interesting aspect of this whole section that we've been in, I want you to think about the picture that Paul's painted, marks of a people who are filled with the spirit. This is just, again, Paul's, Three examples, I'm not sure why he used these examples outside of they would pretty well hit the common experience of the everyday person. But marks of people who are filled with the spirit are this. If you start back in his example with husbands and wives, people who are filled with the spirit are experiencing and growing in healthy, God-honoring marriages where both parties are fulfilling their roles, responsibilities, and growing in oneness. People who are filled with the spirit are growing in healthy, God-honoring parent-child relationships where children are being both trained and loved. And then people who are marked by being filled with the spirit are growing in healthy, God-honoring, employee-employer relationships where both employee and employer are committed to one another's good. Now, I'll ask you this question. Can you think of a picture that would be any more opposite of the culture that we're living in today? Think about that. Think about the state of marriages in the culture that we live. Think about the state of children in the culture that we live. The quality of training and parenting and loving. The fact that public schools have really turned into public babysitting behavioral management centers. And education is something that they can get to if everybody will behave long enough to get to the lesson. Now that might be a tiny bit of an overstatement, but it's not much of one. Think about the state of employee-employer relationships. You may know this, and I think I've said this before, but did you know that people can take classes, and matter of fact, at Northeast, if you're gonna go into the workforce, you're required to take a two or three week class, and you know what you learn in that class? You learn that whenever you go to work, you should work. Did you know that? Don't let the name fool you. At work, you ought to work. Did you know that at work, you ought to try to get along with folks? And just in case you didn't know before you get there, you might want to brush your hair and brush your teeth, and you might want to come back to work after lunch. I'm not being silly. That is part of the curriculum. That's part of what they're taught. Now we can look at that through the lens of worldly wisdom. We can look at that and in a sense it's natural to just kind of chuckle at that and think what in the world are we talking about? But what we're talking about is the world that we live in. What we're talking about are your neighbors. What we're talking about are your family members. And the question is why is it that the world that we live in looks like this? Is it because people are uneducated? Is it because they need to be informed? Maybe a tiny bit. I have a hard time believing anybody thinks you're not supposed to work when you go to work. Maybe a tiny bit. Is it because people aren't given the opportunities that they deserve? Maybe a tiny bit, maybe, maybe a tiny bit. But I would say this, if you want to know what the leading cause and what the dominant cause of a culture that has marriages falling apart left and right, that has parent-child relationships that are so chaotic that they don't even resemble someone who's obeying and someone who's training. If you want to know what the dominant issue is in a society where workers show up on day one wondering why they don't get to share their ideas and why they're not the boss after lunch, The dominant influence in that sort of a mindset is a lack of people who are filled with the spirit of God. It's a lack of people who are bringing themselves and seeking to bring themselves under submission to those that God would have them to submit to. And it's a lack of people who would look out for the good of those that God would have them to look out for the good of. It's not primarily an educational problem. It's not primarily an oppression problem. It's primarily a lack of spirit-filled people, and this is what you see. This downward spiral, this decline, and honestly, as I was looking and reading and thinking about this, I just thought it is amazing how clearly the American society reflects the absence of what Paul is talking about here. Now, before we go further, let me say this. I meant to say it earlier. As you listen to this message, I want to encourage you to embrace the reality that you are here to be equipped by God's word. And in an effort to not let the cares of the world choke this out, in an effort to not let this word go in one ear and out of the other, I wanna encourage you to choose one thing about this message that you're gonna walk away with. Now you can choose five or six if you want, but at least choose one. And with that one thing, I want to encourage you to be ready to discuss that during lunch. So that whenever we meet for fellowship and we're eating together, you've got one point on your mind, you've got one question on your mind. The question is this, to the person sitting across from you, what did you get out of the message? And when they say what they've gotten out, then you say, well, this is what I got. It may be an encouragement, it may be a comfort, it may be a conviction, it may be whatever it is. Don't let it fall on deaf ears and go away. This is not a time to receive just some sort of a lecture or entertainment. This is meant for you to be equipped by the word, so I want to encourage you. Take a point and use it as we fellowship here in about 45 minutes. I want us to look at three things, three major things out of this section of scripture. We've already mentioned that if you're going to be a spirit-filled employee or a spirit-filled servant, then you're going to have to listen to your boss. You're going to have to follow instructions. You're going to have to submit to those whom you have been put under. So there's the aspect of submission and obedience. We've looked at that, and this is the third one so far. It tells us here how that's to be done, and then if you're gonna be the kind of employer or the kind of boss that God wants you to be, then you're gonna have goodwill toward your servants or toward your employees. You're gonna be looking out for their good, and you're not gonna be threatening and those sorts of things, knowing that God will call you into account one day with what you did, with the power and position and privilege of what you had. All of these things fit into three major points. And the three major points I want us to get this morning is this. Number one, watch your heart. Watch your heart. Number two, know whose approval you're after. Know whose approval you're after. Number three, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Those three things, that will cover Every one of these principles are being filled with the spirit, but we're particularly going to look at it in the lens of servants and masters. So, number one, watch your heart. Watch your heart. Look at the text in verse five. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, with singleness of your heart as unto Christ. not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. This is a theme in Ephesians that Paul continually weaves into the instruction that he gives. You'll remember that in Ephesians chapter three, starting in verse 16, Paul is praying, and this is part of his prayer, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you be rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend, and I'm not gonna read all of that, but may be able to comprehend the fullness of the love of God. Here's the prayer. Paul's prayer is that you and I would be strengthened in the inner man, okay? The inner man is just a synonymous term for heart. He's gonna use heart right after that when he says that Christ may dwell in your hearts or that Christ may be at home in your hearts, okay? That's not talking about the permanent dwelling of the Holy Spirit. What he's saying there is is that Christ might be comfortable in your heart. What does that mean? It means that your desires, your motives, your choices, your thoughts would all align with Christ's desires, choices, motives, thoughts. It's the idea that we think about being at home, right? Whenever we are at our own homes. There's a sense of comfort. There's a sense of everything is where I want it to be. Everything's ordered the way I'd like for it to be ordered. Well, what Paul's saying here is that his desire is you would be strengthened in the inner man and that your heart would be ordered in such a way that Christ would be at home as he dwells there. You're not resisting the Holy Spirit, right? You're not grieving the Holy Spirit. You're walking in the Spirit. But this is the prayer. Why do you suppose Paul's praying that you would be strengthened in the inner man? Because that's really where the battle's fought. That's where the battle's fought. The battle's fought in, whenever we're thinking about the heart again, we're talking about our thoughts, we're talking about our desires, and we're talking about our motivations and choices. Paul's gonna continue in Ephesians, building upon that prayer. And he's building upon that prayer as he's talking about being filled with the spirit. Look in Proverbs chapter four. Many of you will know this reality, but we need to be reminded at times. Proverbs chapter four, verse 23. Proverbs chapter four, verse 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are all the issues of life. And I'm using the word all in there, and it's the issues of life. It's the way that you live, the way that you respond to life is a direct reflection and overflow of what is in your heart. And so the proverb here warns us, guard your heart with all diligence. Why? Because you're going to be tempted to respond in some ungodly ways. And if we're in keeping in step with the Proverbs, you're going to be tempted to respond in some foolish ways. And did you know that foolish actions reveal a foolish heart? Harsh and bitter actions reveal a bitter heart, right? And we could go through the whole gamut of these different types of responses, reactions to life circumstances. We say this fairly often here, but it's a reality and it's a reality that's reflected in this passage. We say that in life there's two things you can never control, right? other people, and circumstances. You cannot control people and circumstances, but what you can control is how you respond to people and circumstances. And what do you think is gonna determine how you respond to people and circumstances? It's your heart. And so the proverb says, guard your heart with all diligence. There are some things you can control and some things you can't, and you can control your heart if you're filled with the spirit. How does this play into what we're talking about here back in Ephesians? Well, Paul seems to think that the most important thing that a servant, that an employee could be aware of, and the most important thing that an employee could be addressing is his or her own heart. Be obedient to them who are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling and singleness of heart as unto Christ. The word singleness there just means sincerity of heart. Knowing that who I'm actually working for here is Jesus Christ. Who I'm actually seeking to please, which we'll get to in our second point, is Jesus Christ. The one who's made this opportunity to work possible is Jesus. The one who's put this boss over me is Jesus Christ. The one who's put me in this position of service is Jesus Christ. The one who orchestrated all of this is him, and my job is to work unto my master, unto my boss, as if I'm working unto Jesus Christ. Now, that's hard for people who tend to think they're smarter than their bosses, isn't it? Be honest. Your boss is a dummy, isn't he? He's a real dummy. He could learn a lot from you, couldn't he? If he'd just give you the shot. You could take that company and you could just, I mean, the sky's the limit with what you know. Now, not everybody thinks that way, but most people do. You wanna know why? Because if you're looking for a fault and if you're looking for a weakness in somebody, you'll always find it. Right, we all have blind spots. We all have weaknesses. We all have areas to where we're on the ball and then we have areas where we're just not so much. One of the things that Paul says here is that the way you interact, the way that you function at work, has a lot less to do with how competent you think your boss is, and a lot more to do with how competent you think Jesus Christ is, and overruling in his providential goodness and kindness, and not just putting you where you are, but caring for you where you are. You know, it might just be that Jesus has you in a job, in a place where you really do have an incompetent boss and his goal for your life is not to make you a CEO. His goal for your life is to produce humility and gentleness and a Christian character that you couldn't get if you were in charge and you were as full of yourself as you wanted everybody else to be. Sometimes it's difficult for us to imagine that Jesus' main goal for our lives is our holiness, not our happiness. But if we're watching our hearts, we'll be aware of that. Jesus says in Matthew 6, 21, you know this, where your heart is, there will your treasure be also, right? Your heart and your treasure are there, they're connected. I'm sorry, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. It's this paper trail that our heart leaves, right? Our desires lead to choices and then our choices end up leading to decisions and realities that play out. Jesus says, guard your heart. Guard your heart. Because your heart can be very, very deceitful. And your heart can get you in a mess. You want to know who else is aware of just how powerful an influence your heart is? Satan. Satan. You want to know how temptations work? Well, James tells us that. Temptations work as we're drawn away from our own lust, our own desires. There's something that's laid out in front of us that our heart wants and has been wanting, and we can be drawn away, and that can lead to destruction, can lead to the downfall. of any individual. So what does this have to do with servants and work? What has everything to do with servants and work? Servants work with singleness of heart, with sincerity of heart under Christ, doing the will of God, verse six, from the heart. We've used this illustration before, but it's a, It's a good one, at least in my estimation it is. You know, one of the things that the doctrine of the heart lets us know in scripture is that no one, no one can force us to do anything we didn't already want to do. Your boss can't make you bitter. Your boss can't make you lazy. Your boss can't make you crazy, whatever else. The only thing that your boss can do is draw out of your heart what was already there. That's all he can do. And so we use the illustration of a teabag in hot water, right? You take a teabag and you put it in a cup and then you pour the hot water in and what happens? All of a sudden the bag becomes clear and looks just like the water, right? No. What happens is when that hot water hits that teabag, what's in the bag all of a sudden starts to come out. And in life, your heart is the teabag, and people and circumstances are the water. And they can't make you do anything. They can just expose what's already there. And if you look around, you can see that play out in different people's lives. You can have two different people going through the same kinds of pressures and get two different responses. And the reason that happens is because the condition of their hearts, okay? So when we think about this whole thing of servants and spirit-filled living and these kinds of things, the bullseye comes into what's the condition of your heart? What's the condition of your heart? Are you diligently guarding your thoughts, your motives, your desires, your choices or are they just being tossed about with every wind of doctrine? How is that working? Secondly, know whose approval counts. Know whose approval counts. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling and singleness of your heart as unto Christ, not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ. Masters, do the same thing, forbearing threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is there any respect of persons with him. Here's one of the other realities that everybody faces as you try to live the spirit-filled life, and this is laid on, this servant's masters. By the way, if you haven't been here, we spent several messages on work and on what God calls us to and working and employment and all of that back in Ephesians chapter four, so that's why I'm not rehashing that here. knowing whose approval counts. Look what he says in verse six. Do not work with eye service as men pleasers. What does that mean? Well, it means this. Don't work in such a way that when your boss is there watching, you're Johnny on the spot, lickety split, doing what needs to be done, and then when his eyes are away, the mice will play, right? When his eyes are away, you kind of ramp it down a little bit. The pace slows down, the productivity slows down, the breaks get longer, the conversations get sillier, and the time wasters just grow. He says, don't do that. Don't do that as men pleasers. So here's the contrast. You have the choice in life, at work, and anywhere else, to live as a man-pleaser or a God-pleaser, okay? You can live for the approval of man, or you can live for the approval of God. Now, this whole thing of being a man-pleaser works a couple of different ways. Number one, it can work like we just mentioned. Whenever the boss is around, whenever someone is watching, I am working, working, working. I can be a busy bee when it's time to turn it on, and I can turn it off just as quick. But it could also be, It could also influence you to not just be working hard whenever the boss is around, but be working hard whenever it's really inappropriate and not necessary for you to be continually pouring yourself into a job while you neglect other legitimate responsibilities. And all of that can be influenced by, I want people to think I'm a hard worker. I want my boss to think I'm a hard worker. If you don't know anything else about me, what you are going to know is that I work hard. Well, that's the motto of a man pleaser, because it's all about what I want you to think about me, right? And God's approval is not in that. Now, to be sure, God wants you to work hard. And he wants you to work and embrace the blessing of work that he's given you, but he does not want you to turn your work into an idol. He does not want you to be idolatrously consumed with work. So we can live for the approval of man. Look in Proverbs 29. By the way, when we think about themes like the fear of man versus the fear of God, that's woven throughout scripture. And that theme permeates far more than just what I do at work. It permeates what I do, period, in relation to God and man. Proverbs chapter 29. Proverbs 29, 25. The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. The fear of man bringeth a snare. What does that mean? It means the fear of man will trip you up. The fear of man leads to a trap. And what that trap is, is that you will never ultimately receive what you're trying to get if you're living for man's approval. You want to know why? Because men and women, humans, every human you know is just as fickle as you are. Just as fickle as you are. They may be impressed with you one day and jealous of you the next day, right? They may give you the affirmation you're looking for one day, but as soon as they don't need whatever it is that you have, or as soon as they start taking for granted what you do, just like how we take for granted what other people do for us, sooner or later, the trophy worker or the trophy whoever will just become the invisible has-been, taken for granted, this is where they are and this is what they do. If you're living for the approval of man, your life will be one huge ball of discouragement. You wanna know why? Because we're a lot more impressed with ourselves than we are other people, no matter how good you are, no matter what it is that you do. You know, there are a lot of people in here that can do a lot of things far better than I can, but you wanna know what? I don't care. I don't even think about that. I know it's impressive, but I spend most of my time thinking about the things that I'm thinking of. Thinking about the things that I'm interested in. Thinking about the things that just naturally I'm involved in. And if you're good in something, good for you, but I usually don't think about that. And you know what I'm willing to bet? It's the same way with you. You didn't spend all week thinking about me. Oh, you prayed for me, and I'm glad you did, but you didn't spend all week thinking about, oh, let me revel in Brother Lewis's strengths here. Let me bask in the glory of Brother Lewis's strengths there. Oh, he's so wonderful. I can't wait to see him when we get to church. Can y'all? Let's be early. Maybe we can shake his hand. You didn't think that. And nobody else thought that about you either. And if you're living for the approval of man, you're marching headlong into a trap. But, but, get back to my passage here. He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. You see, this is the opposite, this is the contrast. We can fear man, we can live for man's approval, or we can trust in the Lord and live for his approval. And you know what happens whenever we start, it doesn't mean that you, you know, sometimes we can think about, I don't fear man, you know, and we can go on a scale. So there's some people who fear man and they're constantly looking for their approval On the other end of that scale, it's those who fear man in the sense of, I want to do everything I can do to let you know I could care less about what you think. But as soon as you think I'm caring about what you think, I'm motivated to prove you wrong. Why? Because I'm affected by what you think about me, right? That's a fear of man. So there's two different scales to that. Don't fool yourselves into thinking that there's an alternative between a fear of man and a fear of God. You may think, well, I just don't care what people think. And as soon as somebody does think you care, all of a sudden you're motivated to prove them wrong, right? So we can be blinded in those kinds of things. There's a fear of man, and then there's a fear of God. And that is, I do care what you think, Lord. I do care what you think. I am motivated by what you think. And I want to bring my thoughts, my actions, my desires, my hopes, I want to bring all of those things into submission to your will because I trust you. I trust that as I'm seeking your approval, I've already been approved by you in Jesus Christ, but as I'm living a life to please you, It's not gonna go unnoticed. As we've gone through the Psalms, one of the things that we've hit again and again, because it's in the Psalms, is this reality. God sees. God hears. God judges. God is aware. God blesses. And you know what? It never changes. It never changes with God. God loves and God blesses obedience. Do you know that? Now, do you want to know the scenario where that's not true? It doesn't exist. It doesn't exist. It doesn't mean God's going to give you what you want if you obey, but it does mean that God is pleased with and God blesses spirit filled obedience from the heart. God blesses those who are seeking his approval. Look in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. In verse nine, Paul says, wherefore we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. Wherefore we labor. He says, this is what is motivating us. This is whose approval we're seeking. whether we be present or absent, that we may be accepted of him." Now, the word accepted is translated in several other ways and in different versions. So there's a version that says, we make it our aim to please him. Okay, that's my favorite translation of that. We make it our aim to please him. Others will say, we make it our goal or we make it our ambition to please him. But the, the constant in that whole thing is, um, it is our aim. It is, it is what is motivating me. I want to please him. Now, if our goal in life, if the approval of God is the approval we're seeking, then one, one thing is, um, one thing is fairly clearly established. You have an opportunity every single day and every single circumstance of life that you're in to meet your goal. You have the opportunity to glorify God in every decision you make. Did you know that? What happens when you mess up? What happens if you've sinned? What happens if you have not walked in the spirit, but you have been walking in the flesh? Well, you still have an opportunity to glorify God, you know that? through repentance, through confession, through crying out for mercy and grace. The question is, whose approval are we looking for? Whose approval are we looking for? Second Corinthians 5.9 is a great life verse. I make it my aim to please him. You know, whenever you're looking for man's approval, it's hard to be confident in a lot of ways. Because our hopes are bound up into something that's just so wishy-washy. Something that's just changing day after day after day. But look in Proverbs chapter 14. Proverbs chapter 14. Verse 26. Proverbs 14, 26, in the fear of the Lord is strong confidence and his children shall have a place of refuge. And the fear of the Lord is strong confidence. When you make God's approval your goal, when the fear of the Lord overtakes the fear of man in your own heart, you can live a confident life. And I'm not trying to sound like Joel Osteen up here, trying to get a better version of you. What I am saying is, and there's another proverb in Proverb 28.1 where it says this, the righteous are bold as a lion. You know why? Because they have no reason to be timid. They have no reason to be timid. If I'm on God's side, if I'm saying what God's saying, if I'm seeking to do what God has said, what reason do I have to be timid? You never have to be timid about doing the right thing. You never have to be timid or embarrassed or shy about doing what God has called you to do and clearly called you to do. You don't have to be ashamed about it. There's no guilt that goes along with that. Seeking God's approval. over man's approval. Lastly, back in Ephesians chapter six, servants obey your masters from the heart, right, with singleness of heart, sincerity of heart, not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, that's verse six. Verse seven, with good will, doing service as unto the Lord, not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. So we said, watch your heart, know whose approval, is worth seeking, and then lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Do you know God's reward is far greater than man's reward? Did you know that, and you know this already, I'm making questions that I know you know how to answer, but I want you to think about when you measure your life, your existence, and I'm talking about as far as eternity goes. The life you're living right now on the scale or the chart of your life is about like this. If you live to be 100 years old, it's about like this on the timeline of eternity, right? Wouldn't it be foolish for us to spend those 100 years trying to please men, trying to please ourselves, Wouldn't it be foolish for us to be putting all of our stock in earthly treasure where moth and rust dust corrupt and thieves break in and steal? Wouldn't it be foolish to not consider the reality that in this portion of our lives we have the opportunity to be living for something that's far beyond ourselves and laying up treasure in heaven? Look, look in Matthew chapter six. Matthew chapter 6, verse 19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through or steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. We find all three of these points come together here in Matthew chapter six, verse 19. He deals with the heart. our choices as to which treasure that we're going to chase after is really revealing where our allegiances are or whose approval it is we're trying to seek. You know, whenever we make it our aim to please the Lord and we make it our aim to live our lives in a way that is honoring to him, we never have to wonder if we're going to be cared for. We never have to wonder if we're gonna be provided for. And by that, again, I'm not saying you don't have to, you can be confident that you'll get every little dream you've ever dreamed. What I am saying is God will provide what you need when you need it. God will bless you in ways that you could have never imagined. You'll have resources coming, and I'm not just meaning material, you'll have resources coming from areas you could not have dreamed of. Why is that? Because when you trust in a good father who loves his children, who provides for his children, and you're seeking those blessings, and you're looking for those blessings, you'll see that God does actually do what he said he does. And that is he provides for his children. He blesses his people. Ephesians 1.4, you really have received all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. That's not just an exaggeration. It doesn't mean that it's easy. It doesn't mean that it won't come with bumps in the road. It doesn't mean there aren't hardships that go along with it. But what it does mean is God is true to his word. The other thing that it means here is you get to choose what treasures are you going to chase? Whose approval are you going to chase? Are you going to chase the treasures that are like, you know, the cotton candy treasures that look like something, but they just evaporate as soon as water hits? Look in Proverbs chapter 11. Proverbs 11, verse 18. The wicked worketh a deceitful work, but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. To him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. You know this already, but I'll just remind you that we live in a world that God oversees and he has designed this world in such a way that we reap what we sow, right? If you want to know why it is Mostly, I mean, there are times where people do things that are outside of that, but if you wanna know why it is primarily you are where you are in life, it's because you sowed a certain something in the past. And the fruit that we receive now is an indication and a direct result of the seed that we sowed whenever, okay? What that means is, and you know this already from the text in Galatians 6, if you sow to the flesh, you'll reap of the flesh. But if you sow to the spirit, you'll reap of the spirit. God says in Ephesians chapter six, you need to know this, God will repay you. God will reward you. This is not a merit-based system. This is just the way God set his world up. God will bless you in that you will reap what you have sown. Now, it sounds like we've been completely distracted and off course when it comes to servants and masters and masters and servants, doesn't it? But you know what? Really what we've done is we've kind of looked under the hood and we've seen how things actually operate, okay? And the way things actually operate is, your heart is in some kind of condition, and whatever condition your heart is, is gonna be exposed in the way you respond to those who either have authority over you, or to those who are under your authority. We all live for somebody's approval, and depending on whose approval you're living for, that's gonna be exposed in the way you treat those who have been put in authority over you, and those who have been put under your authority. And then we are all working for some kind of a treasure. And depending on what that treasure is, that's gonna be exposed in the way you treat those who are under your authority and those who have been put under your authority. You see, everything, everything in life is a gift that God has given and we have the opportunity to be able to use that gift and be blessed by that gift, or we have the opportunity to take that gift and to try to selfishly consume it and milk it for all it's worth and bring hurt, pain, destruction, and chaos into our own lives. And so, as we think about servants, obey your masters. As we think about children, obey your parents. And parents, raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. When we think about husbands, love your wives. And wives, submit to your own husbands. When you look under the hood, the question is, what's the condition of your heart? Whose approval are you seeking? and what treasure are you running after? Those three things will explain why you function the way you function in any of those roles. Let's pray. Father, Lord, we have to confess as we think about these things that Lord, our hearts are not always where they need to be. And Father, we are so prone to being men pleasers, so prone to seeking the approval of those who are around us. And Father, we just confess that we are so prone to seeking earthly treasures, seeking what we want, sacrificing what you have said for the desires of our own hearts. And so, Lord, we pray exactly what Paul prayed in Ephesians chapter three. I pray, Lord, that you would strengthen each and every heart here, that you would strengthen us in the inner man, that Jesus Christ might dwell in our hearts by faith, and that he might be at home, that our hearts might be set in order in such a way that he is at home as he dwells there. Lord, I pray that you would show us things about ourselves that we may not currently be seeing, And Father, that you would bless us to be able to see that your grace and your mercy and the work of Jesus Christ on the cross is the answer for those deficiencies in our life, for those sinful responses and the brokenness and the lack of order in our lives. Lord, I pray that you would Minister your word to us in Jesus name. Amen