The God Who Meets Us Where We Are | Ephesians: Your Life In The Family Of God, Part 14

Ephesians, pt 14 – “The God who meets us where we are”

Ephesians 6:5-9
Bondservants,  with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

God meets people where they are, NOT where they want to be.

Paul gives an encouragement and a warning:

1.  to “Bondservants”

Just because someone else is controlling your , doesn’t mean they can control your .

I don’t want God to help me  my circumstances
I often want God to help me  my circumstances

Ex. 

While God didn’t  Joseph’s circumstances, He did  Joseph’s character.

While Joseph wasn’t where he wanted to be, he was right where God needed him to be.

Ex. 

1 Peter 2:21-23
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, , so that you might . 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but .

What do you do when life’s not fair?
.

Life is all about trusting God when you don’t understand what’s going on,
or when you don’t agree with what’s going on.

Ephesians 6:7-8
rendering service with a good will as  and , 8 knowing that whatever  anyone does, this he will  from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

Life is not about what you’re dealing with, it’s about who you’re doing it for.
Remember who you really work for…
You work for Jesus!

2.  to “Masters”

Ephesians 6:9
Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is  is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

While you may be , Jesus is 

While you may be in authority, you’re actually under God’s authority.

Application:

– Remember who you work for as you oversee your employees
– Just as those employees are accountable to you, you are accountable to God

Ephesians 6:5-7
“obey your earthly masters…, as you would Christ..doing the will of God , 7 rendering service with a good will ()…”

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