Good evening, Lakeside. Good evening. If you want to go and open your Bibles tonight, we're going to be back in 1 Peter chapter 2, as we've been doing and walking through a section of scripture. And a word that comes up a lot, at least in terms of what we think of in 1 Peter, that's going to, I believe, increasingly have impact on us is the word injustice. It's interesting, even people who profess not to believe that there is a God who created the universe and created a moral order, even those people have a sense of right and wrong. In fact, there seems to be something innate in human beings that recognize injustice starting at a very, very early age. You put a group of toddlers together that can't even speak and you can watch them live out of injustice. One of them grabs a toy, the other grabs a pack. That's not fair. Even at the earliest age, before we can really communicate, there's a sense that that's not right. Now, of course, as children they can't react appropriately, but that is hardwired into us a sense of when something is fair and not fair. Now, of course, as Christians, we understand this differently. We still sense the same injustice as everyone else, but we understand it from a theological standpoint that the injustice is that God created a good universe and sin has corrupted it. In fact, all the injustice we see is just a manifestation of the fact that we live in a fallen world. And yet, when injustice touches us, even as believers, it becomes a challenge. How do we respond? Why is it a challenge? Because we understand that's not fair. We want justice. We want fairness. So much so that if we're not careful in our own response to injustice that touches us, we can react sinfully and in a way that is dishonoring to the Lord. I've stressed over and over every time I've talked from first Peter that his overarching point for us the book was written for believers As is stated in 1 Peter 1 15, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior. Because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. But Peter had a context for that. The context was the injustice that permeated society, specifically the injustice that afflicted Christians. Coming to Christ had consequences and many believers were suffering. Holiness is the standard, but holiness, when things are not going well, is the challenge. Tonight, Peter deals with another area of injustice. It's an area of injustice that at first might not seem that it applies to us, but in reality it has a direct application even to our society. Peter's going to be addressing a topic that for us, the application is in the workplace. injustice in the workplace. So follow along with me, I'm going to read again, we're just continuing through first Peter chapter two, I'm going to begin reading at verse 18, down through verse 20. Peter says this, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor if, for the sake of conscience toward God, a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God." So as we walk through this text tonight, I just have a simple heading. It's Principles of Holiness in the Workplace. All of 1 Peter is driving us to be holy as God is holy. And in this context, I believe we'll see principles for holiness in the workplace. And the first principle comes from verse 18. It's this. Willing submission to your employer is God's unchanging standard. Willing submission to your employer is God's unchanging standard. Again, verse 18, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect. Now, as we begin to look at this, we see words of servant and master, and we need to be clear on what's being discussed. And then we need to bring that into our modern context because of the unique nature of the society in which this was written. Peter uses a word for servant that still means slave. It's not the more common word used, but it really has the idea of where they served. He's writing to people who were domestic type servants. They were ones who were under another's authority, and they had one duty. They were to serve. On a daily basis, they were under the control of someone else. referred to as the master. They were ordered to work. They had very few rights. They were supposed to do what they were told. And master, of course, refers to what you think it would as the person with all the authority. This is the person who's giving directives. The original root word we get our word despot from, but it's not necessarily a negative connotation of the word. It just means the person with authority context would decide whether it was a good or bad thing. The ultimate issue is they had the ability to say jump and you must jump. The master gave the orders and quite literally the master owned the slave. The master controlled what the slave did. But as is often the case, and there's been much teaching over many years on this in different contexts, you may have heard other pastors talk about it, slavery as it existed at that time was not exactly the same as American slavery. Our view of slavery is colored by the horrific mistreatment of slaves in our culture that is a stain on our history. But in the New Testament era, slavery operated a little bit differently. That doesn't mean it was always an entirely benevolent institution, but it didn't have the same stigma, nor was it carried out in the same manner as what happened in America centuries ago. Experts tell us that in the New Testament era, significant portions of the population were slaves. Originally, they quite often were conquered peoples that the Romans just turned into slaves, but then later people would be born into slavery, some people would sell themselves into slavery. And slaves did a lot of different things. In America, we think of slaves as they just worked in the fields. And while slaves in the Roman culture did menial tasks, there were also doctors that were slaves, nurses that were slaves, teachers, business managers, professional occupations. The individuals that held them could be slaves, they just worked for a specific household. In fact, the experts tell us that in many cases, slaves in the Roman system were actually paid wages. They had the opportunity through faithful service to earn enough money to even pay for their own freedom. So while the servants Peter was referencing were slaves, it was a little bit different context than what perhaps is conjured in our mind with the idea of slavery. So for us, it would be easy to say, well, wait a minute, there's no slavery anymore. Slavery doesn't exist in America, so this text is really not applicable to us. Let's just move on. But I don't believe that's the case. In fact, even before we get further into our study, I want to talk about the application because I don't want us to tune out what Peter is saying. It's true there's no slavery today, and yet there's a parallel in our day because of how we earn our livings. The parallel is the employer-employee relationship. While the economics and legalities were somewhat different, every expert that I read on the issue said that that's the analogous application for us today. As servants in that day performed labor often for wages, we perform labor for wages. Of course we have the personal freedom that they didn't have. But it's a similar relationship. There's authority, then there's a subordinate person. It's interesting that that idea seems to have carried across centuries. My background as a lawyer is not a secret, but I've practiced employment law. If you go back and look at old employment law discussions from centuries ago, employers were referred to as the master and the employees were referred to as the servant. Now, legal, secular terms don't define Scripture, but it's an indication of how the idea has carried through the centuries. So before we get farther into the text, I want you to think of it in terms of the application for us. We know who the original servants and masters were, but for us today, the issue would be the employer and the employee. The boss and the employee. In fact, in terms of application, when you see master, you could think of employer or boss. And when you see servant, you could think of the employee. So let's look again at the text now that we've got some context and look at what Peter says. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect. Be submissive to your masters. We spent the last couple of times that I've taught dealing with where Peter said you submit to the government. It's very challenging for us, particularly when the government is unjust. But again, that's his whole point, is he knew believers were facing injustice from every direction, and so he was meeting the people where they lived. And many people in the early church were in this circumstance. They took orders from others, and Peter was telling them, look, servants, submit. Just as with submission to the government, Peter is talking about something that voluntarily occurs because the believer from their heart says, this is what I'm going to do. It's a willingness to make yourself submissive, to be obedient, to follow directions, to place yourself under another's authorities such that you will do what they demand. What makes it difficult is, once again, this is an absolute statement. It's the believer's duty to make himself or herself submissive. And there's only a single condition really. Just like with the government, if the government tells you to sin, you disobey. Same way in the workplace. Same way for us as employees. The only time we have the ability to not submit is if We have to obey God rather than man. If your workplace asked you to do something that would cause you to sin, of course you would decline. But otherwise, there's an authority in the daily work environment that God expects His children to recognize and it carries forward 2,000 years to us today. But Peter is being very specific. This isn't just a matter of what you do, it's a matter of the heart. He uses that phraseology with all respect. It's not enough just to grudgingly do something. He's saying you submit yourself willingly and you have a different heart attitude about why you're doing it. The word respect can have the idea of fear, but in this case, it's not fear of the master. It's not a fear of them. It certainly is respectful of them. The overall context seems to make it clear that it's talking about the fact that we do it with all respect because we realize we're accountable to the Lord for our work. You act appropriately and graciously to the Master by submitting to them with all respect because you're doing it out of fear of the Lord. Scripture can help interpret Scripture many times, and the Apostle Paul addresses the exact same issue of servants and masters, and I think his words provide some context that help illuminate what Peter means by with all respect. So, for example, in Colossians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul, beginning at verse 22, says this, 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. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that it is from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. I think that's exactly what Peter is talking about. That's exactly what Peter means when he tells us we're to be submissive to masters with all respect. We submit from the heart because we fear the Lord and we want to please Him. Paul said something very similar in Ephesians chapter 6. Verses 5 and 8. Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, not by way of eye service as men-believers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. with good will render service as to the Lord, not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free." So when Peter tells us, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, that's what he's talking about. It's that daily awareness, even when you go into the workplace, that it's not just a paycheck. Even as you're working, you're serving the Lord. The ultimate point for us is that submission is both an action, we do what we're told, but it's also a hard attitude that says, I'm doing it for God. We need to do our work as unto the Lord. It's not just an outward show. It's not just for our own pride. It's not so that we get pats on the back for ourselves. It's because even when you're in your workplace, it affects your testimony. You're a representative of Christ, not just on Sunday when you're here, but every day when you go to work. If you do everything required of you, if you follow all the orders employer gives you, but you're doing it with a grumbling and complaining heart and resentment, you're not being submissive with all respect. That's not obedience to the Lord's command. I realize this is a challenge for all of us. We still, even in Christ, we struggle with sin. In many respects, Scripture once again is rubbing against the way we do things here. It's almost as though we think it's our Constitutional right to complain about our jobs and our bosses. That's what we do. To be upset. That's not the best way to do it. To talk behind the back. I can't believe you made that decision. I can't believe she did this. I'm almost 54 years old in a few more days. I've had a job since I was a teenager. I get it. I've been there. Sadly, I've done it myself. We don't like to take orders. We don't like to be told what to do, especially if we know the best way to do everything. Yet whatever may be accepted and normal around the water cooler of a workplace, so to speak, it's dishonoring to the Lord for a Christian to be that type of employee. So let me encourage you, if your heart is off track, Begin to think now of what repentance would look like for you when you show up at work tomorrow. And I recognize here that some in our environment have already had their careers and they're retired. Some still do work. Do that work as unto the Lord. Serve wherever you serve as unto the Lord. But you still have an impact on others. You give counsel and advice to younger people who may look to you and say, how do you deal with these issues? Give them biblical advice. And yet, Peter's going to push us even further. It's already challenging to think of this, but God's expectation that we submit is not conditional. It doesn't change based on the circumstances. This is what God says. Verse 18, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. There's a sense in which God boxes us in by these words and it gets to the heart of the point. Submission is God's standard and it doesn't change based on the nature of your workplace. You may work in a good place or a bad place. You may have a good master, so to speak, or a bad master. It doesn't matter. The standard is the same. In fact, Peter is taking away, I think, the primary excuse that many would use as to why you wouldn't submit. He does it in part saying this way, not only to those who are good and gentle. This is a good boss. This is a good master. There's plenty of historical evidence that some slaves actually had a good existence. that they weren't treated as dirt or as inhuman. They were incorporated into families and they were treated with favor. Sometimes they were even given their freedom. There were some masters who were benevolent. They were good. They were gentle. That happens today. If you've been in the workplace for any length of time, you understand sometimes even unbelieving bosses are good bosses. They don't abuse or mistreat employees. Many of us have experienced that working for people who it's a joy to work for them. When your supervisors are thoughtful and they value your input and they respect employees and they give credit and they give praise and they treat people fairly, If you have that kind of boss, praise the Lord for that. But that's not when it's hard. In fact, it's probably not that difficult to submit to that kind of boss because there's no injustice involved. It's a good place to work. It's a fair place. Doing what that type of employer says isn't so hard. But Peter is making it clear, God is making it clear that while we submit to those who are good and gentle, God's standard doesn't change if there's a bad master, if there's a bad employer. Peter says, but also to those who are unreasonable. Unreasonable, as we see, it is actually a milder description. Peter's talking about a master who is morally crooked, someone who is perverse, dishonest, Some versions translate this harsh or unjust. This type of master is incredibly unfair because they're immoral, they're evil. You think of all the terrible stories you've heard of a boss or all the adjectives or everything, you put it together and it's this, unreasonable, dishonest. perhaps stealing credit, perhaps being abusive, not leading by example, but being a bully, oppressive, horrific. We have to be honest, an unreasonable employer, an unreasonable boss, an unreasonable master makes life miserable. It's hard to go to work in that environment. Makes things discouraging and frustrating. And in fact, as part of our culture, that's when you start pushing back. You have a bad boss, then you let him know. You stir the pot. Maybe you can get him fired if you do enough and you get enough employees to work with you. We won't tolerate being treated that way and we'll make that miserable boss pay, one way or the other. But we've got to be careful. Because while that seems right, It's not what God says. Rather, we're told, even to that type of boss, we're supposed to submit with all respect. If we're not careful, we can read these kind of things and just think, Peter's out of touch. This isn't real. Nobody can live this way. You can't be a doormat. But it all comes back to who you serve when you work. Don't be misled by who signs your paycheck. You're serving the Lord. Again, I'm going to reread from Colossians, because Paul's words, which I think are stressing the exact same thing, are profound for us. 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. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord, rather than for men. Now, he ends verse 24, it is the Lord Christ whom you serve. We can't get away from that. If you still work, if you still have a job, if you're still accountable to somebody else, remember the words, it's Christ who you serve. In many respects, we spend more time at work than we do anywhere else in our waking day. For many, work is the place where we have a sense of value, a sense of worth. But when you go to work every day, you're not on your own. You're serving the Lord. Your testimony is at stake. And regardless of your vocation, you don't have to work at the church to be serving the Lord. And we have to respond accordingly, even if our employers, our bosses, our modern day masters, are crooked or perverse or unreasonable. It's hard. I get it. I worked in the secular world. I worked longer in a secular job around unbelievers than I've worked at Lakeside. But you know what you call an unreasonable boss? They're sinners. And God knows how to address sinners. And He knows how to tell us how to interact with sinners. And that's part of what He's doing. He's telling us that if you want to be holy as I am holy, you have to live this way where you serve. Pray for your employer. Pray for that unreasonable person. Be an example with your own life of doing the right thing regardless. Be the best employee they have, the most obedient, the most submissive. Whatever you do, don't try and get even when you feel like you've been slighted. Don't stoop to their level with the idea, I'm going to get them back. In Romans chapter 12, Paul says this beginning in verse 17, Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men, if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." So wherever we work, Christians have a variety of jobs, a variety of employers, Some work small places, some work for large entities. Wherever is the case, as a Christian, because you're serving the Lord, you should be the very best employee that the company has. The most compliant, the least complaining, the most respectful, the hardest working. And even if mistreated, trust God. Don't take matters into your own hands. Again, we can't be like anyone else. We have to fight against this. It's much more natural to gossip and grumble and complain. Peter's telling us to stop it. Don't be that way. And trust me, I know how hard what Peter is saying is to live out. My own experiences don't mean that much, but at least on this issue, I do know something of the workplace. Because I was an employee lawyer and I represented management. For over 14 years, all I dealt with were problems between masters and servants. That's why I had a job. If things were going well, they didn't call me. I get it. I saw injustices. I saw good employees treated poorly. I saw bad bosses. I saw unreasonable things. I saw unfair things. I know it. I know the reality of the workplace. But more than that, I know the Lord that's telling us that we have to submit anyway. The issue isn't how your boss sees you. The issue is how God sees you. And if you're a good and submissive employee, even if you're mistreated, God sees it and God's pleased. In fact, I'm going to come back to this idea for my third point. But verse 19 makes it very clear, for this finds favor. For this finds favor if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. Peter's talking about how God views things. At the end of verse 20, it's very clear, it finds favor with God. It's the same. This is like a bookend. So when he says this finds favor, he's not just saying it's going to find favor with your co-workers or it's going to make your boss lucky. He's talking about God's assessment of you submitting as unto the Lord even when things are very, very bad. But again, the issue comes back to the heart. Why are you doing what you're doing? He says it finds favor if, for the sake of conscience towards God, a person bears up under sorrows. In other words, the idea is that even when you're suffering, you're not just being a tough person. Some of us have enough pride that we're not going to let anybody put us down. So we might endure it just to spite the boss. We might endure it just to let everybody else know how tough we are. That doesn't find favor with God. What finds favor with God is living with the awareness, Lord, You've placed me in this situation. I want to honor You. Lord, this is unfair. It's painful. It hurts. I didn't do anything to deserve this, but Lord, I trust You as the sovereign Lord of the universe. I'm going to stick through it. You tell me to submit anyway, Lord, I'm going to do it. That's what finds favor with God. It doesn't make the suffering go away always. The hurt is real. It is unfair. It is unjust. But Peter's making it clear, even in that difficult circumstances when injustice abounds, you can find favor with God. In other words, you can still be holy as God is holy. You bear up under it. The sorrows are real. The suffering is real. But the idea is you're willing to bear the weight for your testimony in service to the Lord. When you keep going, when you persevere, when you press on, when you keep submitting and you keep doing your work as unto the Lord, even when you're suffering mistreatment and injustice, find favor with God. And for yourself, if you're faced with that confrontation, let me encourage you. Go to the Scriptures. Remind yourself of the promises of the Lord. Hebrews 13, 6 came to my mind so that we confidently say, the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me? Just understand this, God hasn't left you forsaken in the workplace. He hasn't turned His back on you. Rather, perhaps if you have a bad work environment, that's one of those circumstances where as James says, you consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. God's growing your character. And when you're depending on Him, He'll sustain you. Just understand this, in the workplace, He sets a high bar of holiness like He does everywhere else. So the first principle of holiness in the workplace, willing submission to your employer, is God's unchanging standard. Second is this, if you're a poor employee, you should expect to suffer the consequences. If you were a poor employee, you should expect to suffer the consequences. There's a sense in which this statement is a little bit jarring, because Peter's being very compassionate. He's asking the believers to do hard things, but he also is making it clear that not all mistreatment fits in the category of an injustice. Sometimes the bad things that happen to a Christian in the workplace or what they deserve. In verse 20, at the beginning, he says this, For what credit is there, if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? He's still talking in the same context of the daily work that you do. And he's saying what credit is there? It's a rhetorical question. There is no value in this. There is no credit. There's none at all. He says, if when you sin, And he's talking about a slave who's not submitting, being disobedient. They're told to do one thing, they don't do it. You could say they're not working heartily as unto the Lord. They're not doing what they're required to do. They're given a task to do and somebody doesn't do it. Again, today we just think of bad employees. If you've had a job very long, you've probably bumped into bad employees. If you have a tendency to slack off at work, I would go back and memorize that scripture from Colossians about working heartily is unto the Lord. Because anything less than that is sin. Anything less than being a submissive employee, an obedient employee, a faithful, loyal employee is not effective service to the Lord. And what Peter is saying is, what credit is there? He's saying, what's the natural consequence of that kind of employee? If when you sin and you're harshly treated. Now we can be thankful the context is a little bit different, because harshly treated literally meant being beaten. Thankfully we don't get beat generally in our jobs today. But he was saying, If you sin, if you don't do what you're supposed to do, and you suffer for it, today it would be a reprimand or suspension or a termination. He said, what credit is there if you do that, you suffer, and you endure that with patience? He's basically saying, don't pat yourself on the back. You've not accomplished anything. You've not pleased God, you've not earned His favor, you've gotten what you deserve for sinning in the workplace and being a bad employee. Christians are living in a unique time. Because increasingly, if we profess our values, we are going to suffer. I think the time will come where the persecution that we suffer may come in the workplace and it will be financial before its imprisonment. I can see situations coming that are already happening where Christians are told in the workplace that you have to do something that is sin. And in that unique circumstance, that's the only time we're justified in not submitting. But that's still not the majority circumstances yet. I see the day coming, it's not quite here yet. But I've seen a lot of Christians in my experience, in my work experience, particularly in my past career, who screamed and hollered if something was going on. Understand this, it's not suffering for the gospel if you get punished for being a bad employee. It's not discrimination against you because you're a Christian if you're not a good employee and you suffer the consequences. And you don't get credit with God because you accepted the punishment. I remember specifically a case, I don't remember all the details, one of the things that I did and one of the disputes I got involved in were claims of discrimination. I did a lot of investigations. Somebody would file a claim, they'd say I'm being discriminated against because of this, I would go and investigate. And I remember a situation where someone who was claiming they were being discriminated against because of their religion, they identified as a Christian, and they said, my boss won't let me read my Bible in the workplace. Well, that sounds offensive. But what I would do is go and look, and this person was absolutely convinced, I'm suffering for Jesus. But when you dug a little deeper, what happened was the boss only prohibited them reading the Bible when they were supposed to be working. It wasn't a break time where the boss said, don't read your Bible. It wasn't lunch time. They were supposed to be working, but they wanted to sit and study their Bible. That's not being a martyr. That's being a bad employee and that's a bad testimony. We've got to be careful. If you do wrong at work, you don't get to get out of jail free card because you know Christ. You need to repent. You need to accept the punishment. And understand, you don't get credit with the Lord. It's a reminder, even in the workplace, what Peter has already told us, 1 Peter 2.12, keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles. That includes in the workplace. For the thing which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds as they observe them glorify God in the day of visitation. That applies to every area of life. It applies to your work. Remember, your job performance is part of your testimony. It can be evangelistic, or it can hurt your testimony. Being a bad employee comes with consequences, and Peter's making it clear, if that occurs, that's deserved. We'll cover our final principle relatively quickly. Willing submission to your employer is God's unchanging standard. If you're a poor employee, you should expect to suffer the consequences. Finally, injustice in the workplace does not escape God's notice. Injustice in the workplace does not escape God's notice. I think Peter is telling us, even though it's hard to do what he's saying, it's made easier when we understand that ultimately God cares and He sees. The second half of verse 20. But, if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. Here's the point. We submit, we're good employees, but the whole point of the book is injustice and its impact on your ability to be holy. It's possible to do all the right things as an employee and suffer for it. with an unreasonable boss, even when you're the best employee there, you may not get credit for that. You may still suffer. You may still be treated harshly. And what Peter says, when you patiently endure that, God sees and He takes notice. It's hard, but it's possible. One of the fruits of the Spirit, I shall read it. Galatians 5, 22 and 23, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. All the things that you need to deal with an unreasonable boss, to submit to an unreasonable workplace, it's there. And when you bear the burden, when you stand up under the weight, you may not get credit with your boss, but it finds favor with God. It doesn't mean the pain goes away. It doesn't mean it's easy to go to work. But what it does mean is what you're doing is not futile. God sees and God knows. And if nobody else in your workplace pays attention, you're working as unto the Lord anyway. Not as eye-pleasers. Not for men. You're working for the Lord. And if you do the right thing and you suffer for it, You shouldn't be depressed and discouraged because you're actually blessed. Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 5 verses 10 to 12, in his words, that if you think in the context of what we're talking about, they can be an encouragement. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great. I think that's what Peter's talking about. You endure now. It's hard now, but God sees and God rewards. Let me encourage you. Many of you are going to work tomorrow. Take stock of how you stand. Are you being holy as God is holy when you go to work? Let me encourage you. If you're not, repent. Remember that even when you go to work, regardless of who signed your paycheck, your ultimate Master is the Lord. Please join me in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Your Word lays before us at times challenges that seem impossible to us. And yet, Lord, you don't command us to do anything that you don't equip us to do. I pray for my brothers and sisters that will be going into the workplace tomorrow. Pray that you will encourage them and that you will help them evaluate whether they're being holy as you are holy with their workplace conduct. Lord, if we need to repent, help us to repent. If we confess our sins, you're faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. And Lord, tomorrow, help your servants at Lakeside make an impact in the secular world through doing our work as unto you. And yet, Lord, we realize the only way we can do this is because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Some who hear my voice have heard this message may not know Jesus. Lord, I pray that they would understand that what's going on in the workplace for them is really of secondary importance. One day they'll stand before you, a holy God, and give an account. There are sinners before you, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death. I pray, Lord, that they would recognize your holiness and their sinfulness, but I also pray, Lord, that they would see the hope of Jesus Christ. That they would understand that Jesus died in the place of sinners so that he might reconcile sinners to you, a holy God. I pray that you would help them place their faith in you. And Lord, for those of us who are your children, we realize everything you've called us to do is by a possible because you've shown us your love and you've given us your grace. I pray, Lord, that you will help us carry our testimony into the workplace and do our work in such a way that we shine the light of the gospel even in the worst workplace. Lord, we love you. Help us to have the strength to do what may seem impossible. We ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.