INTRODUCTION:  When it comes to doing things for ourselves or our families, we won't hesitate to get done what needs to be done. If there's somebody in your life that's close to you who just happens to be outside of your family, you will take the steps necessary to see to the needs and make sure they are taken care of as well. Students are expected to give their all so they will succeed and graduate; as it pertains to the job, the employer expects the employee to give their all every day in order to receive the anticipated paycheck. Unless you are on salary, the less you work, the less money you make because you are being paid based on the number of hours you work in any given pay period. So there is an expectation pertaining to school and the job. Believe it or not, there is also an expectation as it pertains to the work of the Lord and He's looking for us to get that work done.

Over the years, I've found that there's a different mentality when it comes to the working on the job and working for the Lord. There are times when the job requires us to work more hours than we normally do (or overtime) and for the most part, we don't complain about it. However, it appears that when it comes to working for the Lord, if it doesn't fit into a predetermined schedule or timeframe, there¡¦s the possibility that someone will have issue with what may be asked to get done in the church. Of course, this doesn't apply to everybody, obviously, but it's something that takes place throughout Christendom.

I guess my point is this, we have to remember who we are and whose we are and know that the Lord has work for all of us to do. What we do on the job and how we conduct ourselves in public reflects our relationship with the Lord in the eyes of the world. When it's time to "get it done" for the Lord, we should do all of it in such a way that we do it with joy and not with grief. I say all the time that I'm glad that Jesus didn't just go half-way up Calvary; that He didn't get on the cross, just so He could get down and not complete His mission; that He didn't go to the grave and stay there; but all that the Father required of Him to do to secure our complete and total salvation, He did it as the Father required. That being the case, I believe that when it comes to our working for the Lord, and our being about the Father's business, we should be "Doing All As Unto the Lord."


TEXT/BACKGROUND: Our text today is found in the Book of Colossians. Here the apostle Paul is addressing some heresies that were taking place in the church. The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible states at least three things about the heresies as follows:

⇒It stressed astrology, the signs and spirits of the stars and planets.
⇒It stressed philosophy. The heresy attacked the simplicity of the gospel.
⇒It stressed "enlightenment." It had a strong emphasis upon wisdom and knowledge, philosophy and tradition, delving into the unknown and using one's fleshly mind."

In our selected text, Paul is exhorting the Christians at Colosse to be mindful of how they conducted themselves because their actions will have a direct reflection on their witness for the Lord. This same exhortation has relevance for us today because everything, and I mean everything, we do reflects our relationship with the Lord as well, and trust me when I tell you, the world is watching. For example, why is it that the people who don't go to church on a regular basis are the first ones to make statements like, "and you call yourself a Christian!" They can't even spell Bible but want to tell you that what you do is not biblical. We must remember that God is expecting us to adhere to a higher standard - His standard - and as we go about our daily lives, we should be found "Doing All As Unto The Lord."

If we are going to be Doing All As Unto the Lord, there are several things we must consider.

We Must Check Our Attitude.. Someone once said that “your attitude determines your altitude” so how we approach things will determine the outcome. Some people do things with a good attitude; others do it with a bad attitude. You know how is it…you ask somebody to do something and before you can get all the words out, they almost bite your head off!! “Why you asking me to do that…I didn’t sign up for this!” They go into with the wrong attitude and the outcome is not a positive one. What would have happened if Nehemiah had a bad attitude and decided it was too much effort to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. He even had some “so-called” friends by the names of San Ballat and Tobiah, who tried to talk him out of his assignment, but he kept on working because he had the right attitude. When they tried to make him stop his work on the wall around Jerusalem, he told them in Nehemiah 6:3, “…I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” You see, he kept doing the work because he had the right attitude.

We Must Check Our Motives. Motive by definition is something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive. When we make it up in our minds to do all as unto the Lord, we’ve got to check our motives to see why we do what we do. I recently said that some people have their own motives and agendas to doing things in the church – for selfish gain, to be seen doing things, which the text calls “eyeservice,” or even to get in a position to get things to happen or take place their way. Because it’s “my way or the highway,” everybody else’s participation doesn’t really matter. That’s not the way the Lord wants us to conduct ourselves.

Our motives must be like the motives of Jesus. Jesus had a mind to work and do the will of the heavenly Father. When questioned by His disciples about the sin status of a man who was blind from birth, Jesus answered in John 9:4, “I must do the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.” Even after Jesus had been dealing with people’s situations all day long, His disciples tried to get Him to eat something, but He told them in John 4:34, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” He didn’t have personal motives or a personal agenda, His motive was to be about the Father’s business.

We Must Check Our Hearts. King Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence: for out of it are the issues of life.” When you have a heart to do something, you will normally throw yourself completely into it. The preacher said the other night that we must guard or protect our hearts, thereby enabling us to take up the tools for our tomorrows, but more importantly, it enables us to “Do All As Unto The Lord.” Paul says here in verse 23, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” The Amplified Bible says it this way, “Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men.” The idea here is that we put our whole being into the work that the Lord requires of us, but in order to do so, our hearts have to be right. Proverbs 23:4 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” We’ve got to have the love of God, the joy of the Lord, and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit within us thereby enabling us to “Do All As Unto the Lord.” When you have a heart for the Lord, you want to do all things decently and in order according to the word of God.

Summary/Closing. The text says in verse 24 that “ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord.” When we do all as unto the Lord, we know that one day, the Lord will reward us for our efforts.

I’m talking about the same Jesus that said in John 14:2, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.”

I’m talking about the same Jesus that said in Revelation 22:12, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

One of these old mornings, and it won’t be long; You’re gonna look for me, and I’ll be gone; I’m going up to be with the Lord and I want to hear Him say, Well Done; well done, thou good and faithful servant; You’ve been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many…

Check your attitude; check your motives; check your hearts, and whatever you do, Do All As Unto The Lord!