Colossians Lesson 19

Alright, we begin by finishing question 1 of lesson 19. This is going over Colossians 3, chapter 3, verses 21 through chapter 4, verse 1. We're going through on question 1 about fathers. Do not provoke your children. Do not exasperate them. And after last week, I was asked for a five-minute rebuttal from my children, which I'm not going to allow. They had asked for that, plus a few other comments that I will leave to them privately. Like, what took you so long? Things like that. So no rebuttal time. I'm so exasperated to hear this from you now.

No, we went through, we talked about it. Okay, so going on that, what I wanted to go on, we were just getting into, so how does discipline work in this aspect of parenting? How many children are not exasperated by discipline? And then I said, do all children respond to discipline the same? And I think that's where we ended. As I was pointing out, at least in our children, we have four kids and they all respond differently to discipline. Every one of them.

And that took a lot of time to figure that out. as I would try to do the one-size-fit-all for the children. And that's in my humble apology to my children of trying to get that, assuming that everything was the same and I could treat each of them exactly the same in discipline, and that is not correct. So, I was getting into, so how do you discipline children without exasperating them? Is there a way to do it without exasperating them?

I had, I guess, a very unusual situation. My son was saved at a very early age, and after I became a single parent, he became concerned about me. And one day, he said, Mom, are you saved? He was worried because, well, you know, I've always been a Christian, but it's sometimes easy to go along with whatever's happening. And I guess I was into making a living and whining, dining, dancing, having fun. But he, fortunately, was a very mature kid. All because I think he was saved very early. When he was three years old and he saw his dad hitting me, he stamps his little foot and says, you'll leave my mommy alone. You know, and these things, it's all things. You know, and he uses even a three-year-old. He uses anybody.

As much as I hate to admit it, my children have helped me. There's no question about that. And the process of me learning by disciplining, raising, I learned too. That's what I always say. I always tell Mike, I think he uses the same. What is it? You say the wrong things at the right time and the right things at the wrong time? I made a history out of telling the right thing to the wrong people. And he says that, but what I always go back on on that is the fact that, you know, Mike thinks, or you know, in that, implying that he's doing wrong to that, well, it's kind of like pointing. If you point, there are three fingers pointing back at you. I think in those situations, you think he's going to be working on this person, and you're doing all this. Well, guess what? The Lord's working on you.

And I think in parenting, a lot of that happens, too. In that what I'm doing as a parent is teaching me a lot of times. By what I'm going through as a parent, I'm learning a lot of things. Patience. Lots of things as a parent. Teaching you not to get angry. I can fire up and get going. Sometimes there are those times I have to put my foot down, but I'm learning too. I think it's a two-way street.

Your child can help you as much as you help them. We kind of touched on this on our Thursday night study with Vern. What does it mean to exasperate your child? He kind of said that your boundaries are too strict, or if they're too loose, you're letting your kid do whatever they want. Or if you're inconsistent, that's kind of the example Vern used for what that means to exasperate your child. Is that clear expectations? We'll get into that a little bit.

You know, I've seen, this is even before I was a believer actually, up at school, when I got up to school, and I was a party when I was in high school. I was not a believer, and I got my thrills in high school. You know, a lot of drinking, a lot of craziness, a lot of strange, wonderful, you know. And then I got up to college, and I saw kids, and I went the other way. I saw, I thought, man, if I don't change this, The road doesn't look good. I'll be... I'm way too easy drinking. It's way too easy. Even before I became a believer, I started to change. The Lord was working on me to bring me to the Lord at that point.

But I saw the kids who had very tight parents. They were tight as a tick on things. You had a boundary that was very short. As soon as they got to college, they exploded. As soon as those boundaries were gone, they were... You know, everything they could do, they would. And so, I saw some, you know, the tight boundary. There were some that were very loose, too. Way loose.

So, I understand that. I think those are individuals, just as there are four children that I have. There are four different probably boundaries that you have on each of them, probably a little bit. So, I don't think it's as much as boundaries. The boundaries are going to be individual.

I think the bigger thing is what you ended on, and we'll touch on that. It's the consistency, it's the trust, it's all those that matter. Because those are the things that you will not exasperate. They trust you if you're honest and all that. They can trust you in discipline and we'll get into that a little bit as we get into some more of these verses.

So, you know, I always thought, you know, I probably ask my kids no matter what, I exasperate them if I tell them something. And I always kind of feel that way, that no matter what I say, it's exasperating. But the exasperating, as we went into it, it's breaking their spirit. That's the kind of stuff. Discouraging them. That's, as you get into that, exasperating. It's breaking them.

And we're not called to do that. Even though, as I said last week, a lot of times, you know, oh, we've got to break their spirit. This verse tells you not to do that. not to break their spirit. And that's what the exasperating means, is to discourage them to break their spirit.

So, you know, I looked at this, and again, the four different children, I tell you, it's four completely different ways to discipline and how they respond. So there's not one cookie. But it gets to the latter point, what I was saying about the trust. Kelly had one point, William Kelly, on this. He said there's nothing more There is nothing that more discourages a child than a parent's continual needless fault-finding. Again, where a child is punished without deserving it, what can be more apt to create distrust and so weaken the springs of love and respect?

Again, every little thing you do, you've got five A's and one B. What were you doing? You know, get what? Five A's and a B. You kidding me? You know, you played the football game and you scored three touchdowns. Well, last week you scored four. What's the matter with you? You know, if you're just continually picking, you're breaking them down. That's the exasperating. That's where he says needless fault finding. Don't worry about that stuff.

And then, again, more apt to create trust. And that's really where we get into some of this stuff is on the parenting, I think, is creating that trust. I think we get a lot of insight from the previous verses that we just went through. If you look at all these topics, we had wives, we had children, we had slaves, we have all this. What was always the ending portion of those logical imperatives?

Wives, be subject to your husband. Why? As fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be admitted against them. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things. For what? For this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children so that they will not lose heart. Slaves, in all things, obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external services, those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. What is all the aspect of these things? Indiscipline? What is the basis of all that?

It's as fitting in the Lord. It's for the Lord. You're not doing it because I'm going to be named number one parent of the year. It's to bring them in a relationship that honors the Lord. And I think all these verses end with those, in these logical imperatives, it's always as fitting unto the Lord, as to the Lord, as to the Lord. That's why you do it. You discipline your children as unto the Lord. Not to break their spirit, but to draw them into a relationship that will be also as unto the Lord.

So I think it's important on these. I've really been struck lately as seeing it from the Lord's side. Our perspective is always our perspective. We look at it from our perspective. And I look at it, I've been really struck at seeing what the Lord's, or trying to see it through the Lord's eyes. And does He train us as believers? That's right. Yeah. Till you die. Yeah, till we die. It's not over. Yeah.

So, think of how He trains us. Does He exasperate us? Does he break us? Does he carry a big stick and just thump us? Is that how he trains us? What is his purpose in training? Just to beat us up? What is it for? The image of Christ. To draw us to him. and to have that dependency on him, then to manifest Christ. That's why he does it. So the child training is not to beat us into submission. It's in a loving way to draw us to him.

So I said, if we know he loves us, can't we take the training and understand that it is for our good? As fathers, we must first establish that our children trust us and that we love them. If you can't trust the Lord, are you going to be child-trained? No. If you don't understand that He loves you, are you going to be exasperated? Are you going to be, you know, when the trials come, are you going to be beat down because you don't understand that He loves you? If you understand He loves you, and his purposes are to draw him to you, can you go through those trials?

The training? Yeah. But if you don't know he loves you, and you can't trust him, is that discipline going to be successful? No. What about us as parents? If our children, fathers, and the fathers are the ones who are called out, if they can't trust us, and they don't know that we love them, How is that discipline going to work? It's not. So, again, how the Lord trains us, we as fathers, look at how we train our children.

I've read about mothers that will take time, even from all their busy duties, for each of their children, at least a half an hour a week, to sit down alone with that child and discuss the problems the child had within the family. And I've often wished I had done the same thing with my children. Pointing out all the... say that again? Where the mother took a half hour with each child. For instance, one mother had ten children and she would take each child for a half an hour alone. and discuss things that the child wanted to discuss.

Oh yeah. You know, the inner doings of the family and what was bothering the child, etc. And what would that do? I think it would establish trust. Exactly. So, how do we, as believers, do we spend time with the Lord? Do we have that half an hour time just to look at the Lord, understand our relationship with Him. If we do when that trial comes, isn't it more understandable? I know the Lord. I know He loves me. And whatever He's taken me through, I understand it's for my good and He loves me. That's the child training for us. I think of this too.

What if the Lord just pointed out everything we do as believers that's wrong? Day in and day out. The first thing he got up in the morning on the refrigerator was a list. Courtney, you screwed up here, here, here, and here. Next morning, Courtney, you really screwed up. You had five screw ups. Next day, ten. What does that do to me? You quit caring about pleasing.

Yeah, but constant, constant thing. Is that what the Lord does? Is that what he does to us? Yes. He does? Yes, he does. The Spirit of God points out all the time the things that are true of us in the flesh, but at the same time he points to Christ and he shows us that what we have in Christ isn't consistent with what, because the Spirit of God has to convict us when we're walking in the flesh. But the thing I point out is it's in love. If I trust it, the first thing is trusting and understanding who he is. Then I don't, he's pointing out things to me, but I know it's done in love. And that's my point is that he knows us in love.

Then he can, he does, I mean, he trains me all the time. that Wanda, as much as you say, I get beat up all the time by the Lord. No, you're not perfect. Thank you. I think you've said that a couple of times and I winced at that. So I just want to reassure you that the Lord beats me up, you know, doesn't beat me up, but I understand what he's doing. When a trial comes, you know, that was, you know, those verses that I always, Consider it all joy, my brother, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete." How do you consider it all joy? That's why I say it's not beating me up.

It's not fault finding all the time. It is pointing out things. Mike's right. He works on me, but I understand. I trust him, and I know he loves me. So when he does point something out to me, it's not just to beat me up. His goal is to love me and to make me manifest the life of Christ in me. Well, and he's not trying to make you better either. Not me. No, he's, as I said, to manifest Christ. That's what his purpose is.

Did you have something, Nick? I didn't know. I should have known. I was just looking at What we've learned in this book in chapter 2 and chapter 3, and Christ in you, the knowledge of the mystery, hidden treasure, as we receive Christ we should walk in Him.

We're the fullness of the Godhead and we're complete in Him. And it spells out for us a new life, a new creation. And when he gets to the imperatives in three and four, what he's saying to us is there is a behavior pattern that's consistent with this new life. Here's how it looks like. Here's what it looks like. And I'm not expecting you to modify your behavior. What I'm expecting you to do is to recognize who you are. that you have life, the life of the resurrected Christ, implemented by the Holy Spirit, and this is the way the life looks and functions.

You know, it must be the same thing, because yesterday and today I've been thinking about, I just want to go back and read the whole thing through, from chapter 1 through this. Because as I was thinking about it, all these things, as I keep going back, I keep going back to, well he's already told us about these things. He's told us, and this is Paul's way, here's all the doctrine, and now here's the application. And I keep thinking, we're in the application, but do we remember all the things he told us about what's true about us? And that's what I was thinking, I just want to go through and read from chapter 1 through this.

Because if you understand all those other things, he's in control. Seek, set your mind on things above. All these things. If you're doing that, how does that manifest it? wives, husbands, children, slaves and masters will get into that. This goes back to what our next class will be, is faith. If you believe this and understand this, the logicals make sense. If you are trusting and believing what he's told you, you will be manifesting these things. And to me, it's always insane. Why do we choose the other? Why do we choose the fleshly way when he's told us all these things? And a lot of times we fall back on the flesh.

And it's like the Holy Spirit's convicting and convincing us not to do that. So anyway, there's another one I want to look at is Hebrews 12, 9 through 11, which was in our discipline, talking about ours. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us. We respect them. Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them. But he disciplines us for our good, so that we may share his holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful. Yet to those who have been trained by it afterwards, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." So, from a parenting standpoint, and from our training standpoint, He disciplines for our good, for us to share His holiness, and all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful. And that's where I think sometimes the discipline, the exasperation by my children, you know, it doesn't seem good at the time, but hopefully in time they'll realize some of those things, that afterwards it yields peaceful fruit of righteousness for them. raising them up to love the Lord and to just have the relationship with the Lord. Any others on question 1? Otherwise we'll move quickly into question 2.

Alright, in verse 22, these masters are according to what? So I had from the New American Standard 22 says, slaves in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. In the New King James, it says, Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-services, men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. So, what does it say in the verse, for masters are according to what? The flesh. Yep, according to the flesh in New King James, and in the New American Standards, those who are masters on earth.

So, what does this mean? Is this what it says? Okay. Expound on that. Well, it says obey your masters according to the flesh. So, you know, you have to think about that. Because if the masters are telling you to do something that is not according to God's word, then where are you?

Okay. According to the flesh. Yeah. What does that mean? It's without the Holy Spirit. Interesting. Without knowing God. Okay. Are you talking about a horizontal level with humans? Yeah, basically, this is earthly. Pardon the English. It ain't going to happen in heaven. Okay? You're not going to have that same master in heaven. Your boss that you work for, you're going to have him in heaven as a boss?

We need to talk. So if you're a slave, are you always going to be a slave? By this verse? On the earth? Maybe. Well, yeah, I mean always. If you're going to be a slave now, are you always going to be a slave? No. And I think that's maybe the purpose of this question. This isn't earthly. I think that you should obey your earthly master if he is reverent to the Lord. We'll see some of these things as we go on. So I said, no, slaves were earthly and temporal only while on earth.

So, why would he say this? Why would he tell us that? Well, one thing it says, don't do good just to make yourself look good, but to do good because of God. We'll expand on those on the coming questions. This is about the masters and the earth. Why was he saying this to those at this time? I think it's to encourage those who were slaves. This is temporal.

Now, according to, I was listening to Chester McCauley on this, and he kind of went into it a lot about, there were three classes basically of people at this time. Masters or owners and basically soldiers kind of were the third class by far the largest social class was slaves Those who are owned and those were smaller class was owners masters And then the soldiers were by far the largest class was slaves So he's addressing the majority of people right now, and he's telling him that This is only on earth. Why would he say that? Why would he tell you that?

I say to encourage you. You're a slave. Are you always going to be a slave? You're always going to be in this position? No. But right now, and he'll go into how you respond on this earth, how you respond as a slave. The other is that this class included most Christians were in the slaves. They were slaves. Most Christians at this time were slaves. So again, the encouragement was, it's only earthly.

This situation you're in right now. So, is he saying anything about slavery? This was kind of an interesting thought. Does he say anything about slavery? It's bad? Do they say it's wicked? Why not? Am I one of you chickens who said yes? Why not? I think it wouldn't help and if you go around being angry because you're a slave instead of doing your necessary work that you have to do anyway for the glory of the Lord with your heart and soul in it, you're going to have a miserable life.

And your influence with other people will be negative. There's no winner that way. Okay, kind of nibbling around the edge is what I think. Other thoughts? Because he doesn't say slavery is good or bad. The scriptures don't say anything positive or negative about slavery.

Can you kind of relate that to our time at this point? To obey the traffic laws and where you are at work to obey when you do things differently? Can you kind of relate to that? We're not slaves, but in one way we do have to bow down to certain things. I don't know about bow down. You have to obey the laws. This isn't our home. Number one, where is our citizenship?

Heaven. So this is temporal. Listen to Chess Macaulay and think about this more and more. Chess Macaulay suggests that there is no condemnation of slavery since there is no advantage to living the Christian life whether you were a slave or a master. Our citizenship is in heaven. It didn't matter whether you were a slave or an owner. The Christian life is where? Heavenly based.

So, whether you are a slave or a master, Did that mean you were blessed more or God thought just a little bit more for those masters? They're good. Did it matter whether you're a master or a slave in the Christian perspective? No. Well, don't you think they were just being practical and reasonable in trying to make everything easier for the church and for Christians and if they're stirring up something about slavery, they're going to get more and more at odds with the authorities at that time. We'll get to those and some of the other questions, how we're supposed to respond as slaves or how we work. We'll get into that a little bit, kind of that aspect of it. But it basically is saying that it didn't matter from our citizenships in heaven and that this doesn't matter. The social classes didn't matter to the Christian. And it's today. Whether you're rich or poor, does that mean anything as far as the Christian life? Whether you're rich, or you're poor, or you're middle class, or you're whatever, does it matter in the Christian life?

No. So, he's saying here it really doesn't matter whether you're a slave, an owner, a soldier, whatever. Our citizenship's in heaven. It doesn't matter. The motivator is still the life we have in Christ. Whether you're poor, rich, master, slave, it didn't matter. The scriptures don't address the social classes because it didn't matter. Our citizenships in heaven, all our blessings, everything, it didn't matter about where you were. We weren't going to change the classes.

It wasn't that you were going to be a Christian and suddenly freed from slavery. It was the motivator was even in slavery, you have Christ's life. And all the blessings of Christ's life. So he doesn't try and change the slave master. You don't see that in scripture. I hadn't really thought about that, but it wasn't like slavery is bad. It wasn't. And the reason is because mostly Christians were slaves. And it was saying, does it say buck the system? Revolt? Get out of that slavery?

Never says that. So, again, basically it shows that God is not concerned about social status. It does not impact the Christian's life. God's word does not free the slave from slavery, but it gives new motivation for a slave, because he has Christ's life. So if the slave is reverent to God, maybe God's using him to reach the master.

Absolutely. Remember, just what I was talking about, a parent and a child, they're working both ways. And he addresses both masters and slaves. And again, if you follow chapters 1 and 2, Logically, you'll manifest as a slave or a master these characteristics. And then there is, as we talked about last night, harmony in the home. If you go through all the doctrine of chapters 1 and 2, then the logical imperative is coming out in 3 and beginning of 4 now.

It's harmonious. It works. That's how God laid it out. But the biggest thing is that God isn't concerned about social status, today or then. Whether you're rich or poor, that does not make a bit of difference in a Christian's life. Okay? Alright, we'll move on. Question 3.

Explain eye service, men pleasers, and sincerity of heart. First I look in the verses in the New King James and the New American Standard. In the New King James it says, Bondservants obey all things your masters obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart fearing God." From the New American Standard.

Slaves in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart fearing the Lord. So from these two translations, what do you think when Paul says slaves obey your masters, not with eye service or external service? Does that kind of separate the slave from the master in regard that he is actually following a higher master than his master in obeying? In a way, it kind of would be a sense of freedom to him that he's not actually bowing down to this master, but he's bowing down to God whom he loves. Yeah, and we're going to touch, we're going to get ahead, we're going to get into those aspects of it. So, not with eye service or external, what does that mean?

Well, I think you can look at your boss in his eyes and tell him all this stuff, and you think, this guy's a bozo. I'm going to do it, but I hate it. I hate it. I'm going to do it just to show Fred over here I can do it, but I... Is that how you're supposed to have the attitude? Just to please other men? Look, I'm doing it great and I'm going to be great and wonderful in the eyes of all my other co-workers. Is that why you do it? Is that what it says here? Just to please men?

Russ, you're the best worker. You just do everything so wonderfully. Even though underneath he hates his boss and just wants to So you're not supposed to do things. It means don't work externally showing obedience while all the time inside showing disobedience. It also means, I said that, you work only when the master or the boss is looking. When he shows up in the office, you're working like a champ. The minute he goes outside the door, Coffee time! Coffee time! You know, I'm just doing it when he shows up. I'm going to please him because I'm working really hard when he shows up. But man, the door closes and I am, you know, on the internet checking out Drudge Report and Google and everything else.

You know, is that what it means? No, you're not working as unto him, you're unto the Lord, we'll see. So, and I said, yeah, what about the meaning of men pleasers? He said, this means you're only doing work when you work for the approval of men. This means you will do whatever you need to do to receive the approval of men and not God.

You're doing it just because people are watching. People are watching, so I'm going to try and please them. When they're not watching, I'm a slug. Is that the way you're supposed to be? And that's true, yeah. So, how should you work based on this verse and I also said verse 23. What does it say about how you're supposed to work?

Hardly. Huh? Hardly. With sincerity of heart fearing the Lord. You do your work as unto the Lord and not for the approval of men. That means even when people aren't looking or don't know, you work hard and with honesty. And from verse 23, whatever you do, do you work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men.

Pretty clear right there. So when you're all by yourself and you're working, or in my business, I'll tell you, I'm a consultant. I charge hours. And it sounds bad, I sell myself by the hour. But it's one of those things where if I write down I worked 8 hours, but I only really worked 6, but I billed the client 8. Is that doing what these verses say? Even though they may not know it, that I billed 8 hours, Sure, paid it in eight hours. But I only really work six.

That's stealing. It is. And it's dishonest. And it's pleasing to men. I'm doing all this great stuff, but I'm not honest. And I'm not working as unto the Lord, because as unto the Lord, I work six hours. I bill six hours. So, I mean, it's those type of things. But if you're alone, you're working, and you're just goofed off three quarters of the day.

You know, is that as unto the Lord? Yeah, Marla? Weren't there societies, or people back at that time that it was a virtue if you could cheat somebody out of something, or you could lie, and the better you did, the higher you were in that society's estimation? A lot of times that's today.

You know, same thing. The whole automotive mechanic situation, they bill strictly by flat rate, what the book tells them. Yeah. And they'll starve to death if they take that long to do each job. Right. I've noticed that when I take my car in. I've wondered about that. Yeah, I mean, it's an eight-hour job and they did it in three, but they charge you eight, because that's what the book says. Electricians did that to me too.

Anyway, you know, it's basically, for whatever you do, do you work heartily as for the Lord rather than men. You're working as unto the Lord, not unto men. So when, by yourself, while you're working, you're working as unto the Lord. Don't cheat your earthly master, boss, because your heavenly master knows. Do it as unto the Lord. You're working as unto Him.

Okay? Yeah. Heartily is a good word, but the Amplified says, whatever you do from the soul. Oh, that's good. I like that. I think it's a little more meaningful, I think. Yeah. Well, because it's the motive, I think. It goes to the motive. I'm going to work hard. Just because I want to get, well, that was the other. I'm going to work hard like, Lord, just so it will bless me a little bit more. Wrong.

That's what the difference between reputation and character is. Reputation is what people think you are. Character is what you are. Jessica? Yeah, piggybacking off of that, it's not really an external thing. It's the heart attitude you should have. It's not what we look like. It's the attitude. Because I think you can look like you're not working heartily for the Lord. even if you are. It has little to do with what you look like outside.

It's your heart. It's the motive. And I think that's right. I think that's great by the soul. I'm not doing it just to please men. I'm doing it because I'm working as a Lord. The Lord's understanding knows, put me in this place and I'm going to work. Question four. Was that the first bill? Should a servant, employee, public servant, etc. perform better after they know Christ than before they knew him? It depends on the work ethic. I think it depends on your work ethic. Okay. Other thoughts? If you had a great work ethic before you were saved, then being saved didn't benefit you at all. Is that what you mean?

Apparence is, I think, what she's talking about. Whether or not it helps me in my job, because I'm a believer, I don't know. I think the differentiator is the you. When you're a believer, it's not you who does it, it's Christ who does it. So that's the performing that is noticeable, not the you. When you're not a believer, it is all you. It's all you. That's a good point. And I think it goes back to what we were just saying, it's motive. Before you're a believer, what is your motive? Everything's here. Right here, center. The center of the earth is right here. Right inside of me. Before I was a believer.

Now as a believer, it's changed. It's Christ. That's the motive. So, I say there is a difference in that the motive is changed at that point. Before you believe you may be a good performer and all that, but you're doing it for yourself. Now it's as unto the Lord. And that will change, I think, how you approach things and as jobs change, as things change. That will show who you're working for and your motive. I mean, you're a great performer and you get canned. Does the Lord know that? And how is your attitude? But I'm the best performer in the world. Why did you fire me? Did the Lord know that? Was he checking your motives?

I mean, I think there's a difference. I think that's the purpose of the question. Is that you're working as unto the Lord. As a believer. Completely changed from before when only you're looking at self. The only motivator. Now it's as unto the Lord. So as we were saying, as things change, you know, I have to live with this all the time, you know, as an owner of my own business. You know, do I trust, do I bless him and think wonderful thoughts only when the business is coming in? Or when 2008 happens and the economy goes into the dumper, you know, and my business gets cut in half, do I thank him the same and do I perform the same? I should.

One of the purposes of the question was to get the idea that if I'm in Christ and Christ is in me, his life will outperform my life by a factor that's not even calculable. And so I can be the best employee ever, but when the life of the Lord Jesus is being manifested through me in my job, what happens in terms of the practical application of it can't even be measured. It's so far above the greatest type A you ever met.

And I think it just, in a lot of minds, it doesn't matter whether you're the best, or like I said, if you get fired or you miss that promotion, you get that promotion. As a believer, you know it's from the Lord. And it doesn't matter whether you get blessings or trials in work. Even though you work in the same, you know, type A guy, before and after, now I think it's a difference.

Because you're manifesting his life, which, you know, when you get canned and everybody else is in panic mode, I think you as a believer now have something that they don't have. It's the understanding that he has a love that can't be separated. And we just talked about child training. When he takes away the work, he takes away your job, and you don't know what's going on.

As a believer, I think you have a completely different manifestation to the world. If you, as we go back to trust, trust that God is in control, He's sovereignly in control, and He loves you. You can weather any of this. It's a different performance, I think, once you're...

Again, it's not self-motivated, it's Christ-motivated. All right, we will start with question five next week and we'll get through these. I think these will go pretty quick, the remainder, so let's close. Heavenly Father, we thank you again just for this time. We thank you again as we look into your Word. We thank you as we just see in Colossians, just in chapters 1 and 2, I'm just struck by how much it's pointing us to Christ, too, as we see in chapter 3, to seek the things above where Christ is seated.

That's our focus, all the work and parenting and all the different things. If our focus is on you, these logical imperatives will be manifested in us through the conviction of the Holy Spirit manifesting the life of the Lord Jesus Christ through us. And we just thank you again that it's not on our own efforts. It's by the Holy Spirit manifesting the life of Christ in us. And we just thank you for that. And Father, we just thank you Again, that you haven't left us alone.

You have left us with your word and with the Holy Spirit. We just pray now as we go into the next meeting. We pray for Vern as he provides the word. Just prepare our hearts to receive it. Father, we just thank you for this time in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.