Someone’s Lifeline

Transcript

And hello again, radio friends. How in the world are you? You doing all right? Oh, I’m fine, thank you. Happy in the Lord. This is early, early in the morning. Even the birds are walking. That’s pretty early. But I like to do it that way, because I know so many of you are awakened, (and what an awful thought) by the sound of my voice. You have your clock radio alarm set to go off just when the broadcast is starting. And so I like to talk with you when I feel about the way you feel when you’re getting started on the day. Of course, others of you listen at different times. Some mid-morning and some mid-afternoon and some just at supper time, and some late at night. I know that. Don’t worry if you fall asleep while I’m talking. I have preached in many people’s sleep. Oh, dear. But when you wake up, you’ll feel better. As Dr. Ironside said, always used to say, I heard him say one time, a number of people were nodding off during his message and he said, “”If you get sleepy, take a little nap, you’ll feel better when you wake up.”” So that’s how it is.

Let’s go to the fourth chapter of Colossians now. And we’re looking at the truth as it applies especially to employers. And he uses the word masters because they had slavery in those days when the New Testament was being written. So he spoke to servants and masters. We to think in terms of employees and employers, don’t we? So that I’m using that term to bring it right up to date without changing any of the meaning of it. Employers give unto your servants that which is just and equal. If Christ is going to run your life, now this goes back to 3:17, you remember that, don’t you? “”Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.””

And so, that lordship doing and saying everything that you do and say for the sake of and by the authority of and by the enablement and power of, and for the ultimate glory of your Lord Jesus Christ, that touches the sensitive areas in your life. Husband-wife relationship, parent-child relationship and employer and employee or capital and labor however you wanna say it, relationship. That’s where it gets a little scratchy sometimes, and that’s where the grace of God needs to show up. People don’t believe you’re a Christian because you look so good in church on a Sunday morning. Mother is sitting there so prim and pretty, and the children are all scrubbed and washed and dressed up in their Sunday best and Father sitting there so dignified with the last few strands of hair brushed over his bald spot and his best suit and tie and neck-tie on, my, you look nice in church. And that’s good, but people don’t evaluate your Christianity by how you look in church. They evaluate your Christianity and your Christ, may I say, their attitude about Jesus is formed when they observe you under the pressures of life that get other people upset. What happens to you?

Now in terms of the Lord Jesus running your life and you doing and saying all that you do and say for Him, if you’re a manager, an employer, the first thing that Paul talks about is the pay envelope. I told you about the office code I discovered many years ago when I passed a compliment to someone and the reply came back “”PIPE””– put it in the pay envelope. Well, that’s one of the sensitive areas, isn’t it? And you can’t underpay people giving them less than you know and they know they’re worth consistently, you can’t under-pay people consistently and still have your testimony shining as a Christian. That’s Colossians 4:1.

And of course the caveat there is, remember your payday is coming some day for you, you have a boss in heaven, you have an employer in heaven, you have a master in heaven, and so you’re gonna have to deal with Him some day and face up to what you’ve been doing here and now.

Now the second thing for a manager is to learn to pray, continue in prayer. Pray your way through the day, start praying the minute you wake up, keep on praying on through the day as you turn to the various tasks or challenges that are yours seek your blessed Lord. I have never yet made a management decision after prayer which I regretted. When I have prayed before making a management decision, I have never had cause to regret it. When I have done things as we say, off the top of my head, when I have made, as we call it snap decisions, I’ve often had a chance to regret that.

Pray your way through the day, manager, employer, supervisor, foreman. Anybody who has management responsibility, learn to pray, continue in prayer. It’s not just one little prayer, “Lord bless me and keep me out of trouble, today. Amen.” Now that’s good. But the process you see, prayer is not simply a point action only, but also a process. It’s a way of life, it’s a lifestyle. To be a person of prayer means to have a lifestyle of praying. The Psalmist quotes God as saying, “”I will guide thee with mine eye.”” Now, if God is gonna guide you with His eye, you have to be looking in His direction. It’s that simple. And so prayer is the way we look in God’s direction. Pray your way through the day, continue in prayer.

But life doesn’t have to keep… It would catch you by surprise. And so He says, watch in the same. Watch what’s going on around you so that life doesn’t take you by surprise and watch for the answers that are going to arrive as a result of your praying. “Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them.” Desire, pray, believe, receive, that’s our blessed Lord Jesus Christ who never made a mistake, telling us what to do. Watch for the answer, believe that you receive, reach out the hand of faith and say Thank you Lord and I’m gonna wait and watch and see it come. Watching with thanksgiving, remember to say thank you.

Only one out of the 10 who were healed came back to say thanks, and he was a Samaritan. Oftentimes the people we call foreigners put us to shame by their devotion to our Lord. Isn’t that true? Well, don’t you be one of those ungrateful people. You be thankful. “”Watching and the same with Thanksgiving.”” You say, “Oh, my situation is so bad, I’m praying desperately the God will change things. How can I be thankful for what I’m going through now?” Well, you can be thankful in everything though not for everything, maybe. Somebody has made that distinction, based upon the language of the New Testament, “”in everything give thanks.”” You can be thankful for what God is when what He’s doing and for the relationship you have with Him, and for your knowledge that He’s on the throne that He isn’t making any mistake. “”Watching in the same with thanksgiving,”” make a habit of thanking God for what you can be thankful for, while you are waiting for His answers in other matters.

Now, what does this have to do with management? Oh, a great deal. First, It keeps you from making mistakes as I pointed out. If you’ll pray about things you won’t have so much to regret. Second, it puts a different atmosphere around your management. If you’re managing as from and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it puts a different attitude, a different atmosphere around your management. And third, if thanksgiving is the lifestyle prayer and Thanksgiving and faith is the lifestyle, it gives other people the challenge of doing something more than routine. They learn from you to do things for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this whole matter of prayer as a lifestyle, is both a process for you and a challenge and an example for others.

Then He says, “With all praying also for us learn to intercede.” Now, this far, is it what, eight minutes or more? It’s been a kind of a review and of course, you and I both know that but I want to get a running start into what we’re talking about here and some people need the review ’cause you didn’t hear it before, right? So he says, “praying also for us be an intercessor.” This is for managers now. Be an intercessor. Somebody’s having a rough time at home, pray for him or her or them. Someone admittedly has more financial challenge than the latitude and opportunity of the present job affords and so they have to look for something where they can moonlight as we say, and there’s always too much month at the end of the money and you know that they’re short all the time even though they’re doing their best.

Now verse one says, pay him what they’re worth. Don’t stinge on that. But verse three, he says “”Learn to pray for them.”” Learn to pray for them. I’ve got letters in the file from people who wrote first to say, “”This is impossible. You say I should give to my church and to missions and all of that and let alone to the radio ministry, but I can’t do that. I’ve got too many bills and we’re getting deeper in debt all the time, and where it is. Where is God in all this?”” A desperate type of a letter comes in every now and again. And I can point you to people who, after I reminded them that they needed to talk their whole budget system over with the Lord, when they did it, they found out there were areas where God would lead them in cutting down their fixed costs and also in opportunities to make the dollar go farther and all of that or in some cases to give them a different job, even.

Pray about things. And when you pray for one of your people whom you know is in financial straits, or somebody who is in trouble with a home situation, or someone who has a health problem, or whatever maybe, you are making it possible for Almighty God to change that person’s circumstances for His glory. Learn to pray for your people.

Now, Paul said, “”Pray for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance.”” Pray in terms, especially, if your employee is a Christian obviously, this has to do with believers. Pray that your employees will learn how to win souls and witness for Jesus Christ. Generally speaking, (now, this isn’t always true, some people are so spiritual they’re no earthly good,) but generally speaking, a person who was on the job for the Lord Jesus, as a soul winner, is a better worker as well because the Holy Spirit of God is working in and through his or her life all the time, on and off the job. And so pray that your people will learn the thrill of winning souls and speaking for the Lord Jesus. Pray that they’ll understand the Gospel, the mystery of Christ. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing under them their trespasses and hath committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation. The mystery of Christ is that God came down the stairways to the stars and the Lord Jesus Christ tells you everything you need to know about God because He is God, God the Son and the Holy Spirit of God, God the Spirit, manifests Christ through your life. Learn to understand the Christian life, and the Gospel message. Pray for your people that they’ll be clear on the Gospel.

And then third, pray that they’d be willing to pay the price of being Christians. Paul said, for which I am also in bonds. Pray that your people will learn to pay the price of being true to the Lord Jesus Christ. There’s a price to be paid, you’re not being lined up against the wall and shot at sunrise. Not in our culture, at least, because you’re a Christian, but there’s a price to be paid culturally, societally, in the community in the schools, on the playground, in the various associations in the neighborhood. There’s a price to be paid for being an out-and-out Christian, you know it and so do I. Pray that your people won’t flinch at the name of Jesus, but that they’d be willing to stand up for him.

Now, we get at some more of this the next time we get together.

Dear Father today, help us to pray our way through the day, that we’ll be better workers, better managers in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!