1 Peter 2 is where we're at. This is the fourth
message in the series we've called "Dawn is Coming." Is it OK to have fun in church? Is that all right? All right, 1 Peter 2, title of
my message is "For God's Sake." For God's sake. Come on, shove your neighbor. Tell them, for God's sake. 1 Peter 2, starting
in verse 13, I'm reading out of the
message translation today. It says, "make the Master proud
of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities,
whatever their level. They are God's emissaries
for keeping order. It is God's will"-- when you come across that,
you should pay attention because that's what so many of
us are asking all of a sudden. Like, what's God's will for me? Here you have it. You wanted to know. "That by doing good, you might
cure the ignorance"-- wow, that's charged-- "cure the ignorance
of the fools who think you're a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving
God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you
meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. You who are servants, be good
servants to your masters-- not just to good masters,
but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put
up with it for God's sake when you're"-- wait, we can make
that our title. And we did. And we did. Got 'em. "What counts is that
you put up with it"-- say it with me-- "for God's
sake when you're treated badly for no good reason. There is no particular virtue
in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated
badly for good behavior and continue in spite of
it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God. This is the kind of life
you've been invited into-- the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything
that came his way, so you would know that it
could be done, and also know how to do it step by step. He never did one thing wrong,
not once said anything amiss. They called him every
name in the book, and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content
to let God set things right. He used his servant body to
carry our sins to the cross, so we could be rid of sin,
free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with
no idea who you were or where you were going. Now, you're named
and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls." Come on, if you're
thankful to have the Shepherd, Jesus
Christ, as the guardian and overseer of your soul. How good is it to have someone
keeping watch over your soul? I love that. We say for God's sake
or for heaven's sake when we're trying to,
like, really show someone that we mean business. We're trying to make
something we're telling someone become more forceful. Like you might say,
turn that music down for heaven's sake, right? Not just like a normal
turn the music down, this is like turn the music
down for heaven's sake. I mean, it's more intense. It's more aggressive. You might say like, don't scare
me like that for God's sake. I really am insisting
you don't do me that way. It kind of is actually
our way to really show someone we're annoyed with them
because we're trying to say, like, God is going to be mad
at you because of what you did. It's like we're appealing
to a higher authority. We're trying to make what we're
saying have more oomph to it. That's why when we're not
saying, for God's sake, for heaven's sake,
what do we say? For Pete's sake--
the apostle Peter. That's where that
came from, by the way. The apostle Peter,
who by the way, wrote the book we're studying. We would say for Peter's
sake, for Pete's sake, for heaven's sake
because Peter is at the pearly gates
with a clipboard. You guys know that, right? For Peter's sake, for heaven's
sake, for God's sake-- we're trying to moti-- here's what we're
trying to do-- we're trying to motivate someone by
appealing to a higher authority when we would say such things. Well, guys, we're reading
words that Peter wrote. And he's telling us
don't do it for my sake, but as you do all you do,
do it for heaven's sake. But don't use that to
motivate someone else. Use that to motivate you. We're to live these lives in a
certain intentional focused way for heaven's sake. And that's what we mean when
we say Thy will be done. Not my will be done,
but Thy will be done. It's how Jesus
taught us to pray. It's how Jesus taught us to
live-- to live our lives out for heaven's sake as a
part of a bigger story. Now, we've got to pause right
here because we just jumped in in verse 13 and
acknowledge where we're at as we make our
way into this new section-- the second half of 1 Peter 2. And we're exactly at the
halfway mark of our series. This message is four of eight. And this passage
begins the second half of this little book. You see, verses 11
and 12, many people describe kind of like
as the intermission. Like between the acts
of a play, there's kind of like this intermission. Basically, everything
that he has said has been sort of
setting things up. And then everything
that follows is his way of showing how to
put these things in action. And in between is
really where we're going to live out of for
the rest of the book, verse 11 and 12. Verse 11, he said, beloved,
just because we're, like, dear. And like, hey, guys, I love you. Like, I love you so much. Don't miss this. Therefore, beloved. And then he said, I urge you. Now, let me ask
you this question-- if you used the
word urge or beg, what are you trying to show? Like trying to show
you mean business. You wouldn't be like, I beg
you, can I have a dollar? You wouldn't use it on
something so frivolous. But like, I beg you, please
don't go to that party. Please get out of
that rela-- like, if you're going to say
that, you mean bu-- you're saying for
heaven's sake, really. Is what you're saying. I urge you beloved. And then He said, abstain
from-- this verse 11-- from fleshly lusts that
war against your soul. He's saying you have a
guardian of your soul, but there's also an enemy who's
trying to mess with your soul. And in this world you live
in that's not your home, there are less-- there
are things you could do that would harm your soul
and mess you up on the inside and keep you back from God. He's like, beloved, I urge you. Abstain. Don't give in to temptation. Don't give in to
the pressure that's put on you in this world. It's not your home. Your home's heaven. That's what He was saying
this first chapter. He's like, your home's heaven. Don't you see that? That's where your
citizenship-- that's where your future is, that's
where your allegiance is, that's where your Savior is. Prophecy foretold it. Angels are pumped about it. Heaven's your home. Don't forget that. Don't settle down here. Don't let your desire for
heaven get snowed over. Don't get lulled to sleep. You know, people who are
dealing with hypothermia oftentimes feel hot
just before they die. So they'll find them,
clothes taken off. You see, how you
feel is oftentimes the opposite of what's real. And He's saying this
world's like that. You'll feel something. You'll give in to
that feeling, that sleepiness that comes over you. He's like, don't, no. Don't let that fall asleep. Stay awake. Stay alert. Keep your eyes on heaven. Keep your hearts on heaven. Abstain from these
lost that war-- look war? War? Life is not a game to be played. It's a war to be waged. So be focused. OK? That's what He said in Verse 11. And then He said, and
here's what you need to do. You need to let your
conduct be honorable as you mix with unbelievers. Now listen, we are meant
to mix with unbelievers. We're not supposed to
engineer a life that basically tries to replicate
the circumstances of heaven. In heaven, it'll be just
Jesus people all the time, Jesus followers all the time. But you'll never get a witness. If there's not
someone in your life you can think of to
give a sticky note to, something's wrong. If there's not situations where
you're around unbelievers, right, where you would-- because
in heaven, you try and witness, it'll be really frustrating. Hey, you know about Jesus? Yea, he's right over there. He's having a Slurpee. What are you talking about? He's right over there. Right? You can't witness in
heaven, but here we can. Here, we're around
people that need hope, they need love,
they need life, they need to have their
day brightened, that need to be encouraged. OK, so don't give in to
the pressures around you, but don't give up on
the people around you. Have your conduct be honorable. Live an awesome life. The art of living beautifully. That's the rest of the book. Because the rest of the
book, having built His case in the first half,
in the prologue He sets up what's
coming, and so now He's going to tell us how to do that. OK? So the rest of the
book is how to abstain from fleshly lusts
that are going to come against you, right-- with keeping in mind
the fact that we're to love the people around us. So it's that tension. We're put to the knife's edge. And the church is always between
one of those two extremes. Either insulating
ourselves from the world or imitating the world in
the things they're doing. But we're not meant to
imitate or insulate, we're called to infiltrate--
to infiltrate the world, to be that salt, to be that
light, and to have an impact. So to do that, we
have to be in there, but we have to also know that
we have some things we're not going to give in to. And so that's what's going to
follow the rest of the book. And I hope you'll be here
in the weeks to come. Specifically next weekend, we're
going to talk about marriage. So if you've got a marriage in
your life, let's talk about it. If you want to get married
someday, let's talk about it. It's going to be a
beautiful message. I hope you'll come back
to church next weekend. And just in the
series as we go on, we're going to be
looking at what does it look like to
not give into the world, but not give up on the
people in the world in all these different areas while
we're dealing with lives that are full of pain at times. So it's going to be a
pretty relatable series. And we're going to
believe through it all that dawn is coming. That God is up to something. With hope and with faith with
a belief for a better tomorrow. We're going to trust God and
blaze a trail into the future. I can't wait for
what God has for you. I can't wait for what God has
for me and us as we move on. And I got so much faith in what
God has for us, Fresh Life, and it's just going to
be a wonderful time. All right, so specifically this
week, of course, as we read, what he's going to
do now is show us how this principle works out
when it comes to authority. We're going to give
in to the world and we're going to
give up on the world, and what does that
look like when it comes to authority relationships? That's what He's going to
talk about-- authority issues. Now, I love authority
and so do you-- when we're in charge. I love leadership. Go into any bookstore. Right? You're going to
find a million books on how to be a great leader. I was like, I'm going
peruse that because I want to be a great leader. I love leadership. I love calling the shots. I love being in charge. How about when someone
else is in charge? Right? Where's that book? How to be under authority. How to do what someone
else says you should do. How to not be in charge. Like, uh, that's not my lane. That's not my lane. I'm going to go
find a different-- I'm going to go
find a biography. I'm going to go read George
Washington's biography and find out how to stand
there with my leg up. That's what I want to do. That's what all of us want. That's the-- that's
where we want to be. But Peter knows that
our big problem-- that's the first thing
I want you to jot down. The problem is
that all of us are going to face issues with
authority when we're not the one in charge, when we're
not the one calling the shots. So what does life look like
shining brightly for Jesus, making a difference
in this world, keeping our heart set on heaven
while our feet are still here on earth, when we're
not the one in charge. And how do we deal with that
problem for heaven's sake? For heaven's sake. Because the truth is, if it
hasn't happened to you yet, there is going to
come a time when someone is in charge of you
in some way who is a moron. You're like, yeah, fair. Fair enough. Right? A moron. Meaning you're just going to
go like, the things that you do are so stupid. And I don't like
any of the things that you choose to do, right? I don't like the way you
interact with people. You're not self aware. You're just thinking, you
should not be in charge. We've all been
there where we feel like what mix up took place in
the universe that put you in-- I wouldn't let you have
metal silverware, right, much less a decision-making
ability that impacts other human beings. And it's a problem. Can we just call it out? It's a problem, right. I've encountered
mall security guards who are a problem for me. Like, it seems sometimes
like the smallest power that can be given is
usually wielded most carefully, right? Protected most vigorously. Defended most ardently. And that frustrates
me exceedingly, right? To see someone with
a little bit of power like running it like
it's a prison camp. It just grates on me. And I have to bite
my lip sometimes just to keep from being in
third grade again, right. Most of my life,
I'm trying to avoid letting the third grader out
and just live His life, right. Because I remember a
problem with authority being written on progress
report after progress report. Anybody else with me? Authority issues, doesn't
like being told what to do, doesn't like busy
work, doesn't-- like, I used to correct my vacation
Bible school teachers for getting the
Bible stories wrong. And I'd be like,
are you kidding me? That's not how it went down. David had to bring
a bag of foreskins to sell to marry his daughter. You're hiding us from the truth. Right? And why are you shielding
us from the real details? What are you scared of? What kind of exposition
is that, huh? And the teacher is
like, you know what? I'm a volunteer. I don't need this. Right? I'm here to serve Jesus,
not to mess with you. Right. And just have always had
a problem with anybody telling me what
to do besides me. Because I should be
in charge, not you. And I think this is a problem
because we feel that way. And sometimes right,
and sometimes wrong. But in both instances,
what Peter is saying here is that the posture-- that's our second word
we want to jot down-- the posture that God
is calling us to assume is that of submission. When we're under
someone's leadership or in any way someone
is in charge of us, the posture we are to assume
is that of submission. Submission. He puts it this way-- he says submit yourselves
for the Lord's sake to every authority. Submit yourselves. Submit yourselves. The word submit in the
Greek is hupotasso. Say that out loud. It's just nice to say a Greek
word just on a Sunday morning. Hupotasso. It's hupotasso. It just rolls off the tongue. Come on one more time
with a little attitude. Hupotasso. I like it. All right, hupotasso means
to arrange yourself under. To arrange yourself under. It's a military word. It'd be like if two
guys were talking, you know, at the MP, or the
military cafeteria, right. They're eating some
food in the military and they maybe have a
jacket on or something. They can't see, you
know, their patches. They don't know
each other's status, but then maybe one
of them stands up and takes his coat off. And all of a sudden he sees
he was being super casual with someone who outranks him. Who is his commanding
officer, right. All of a sudden, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa. He's going to arrange
himself under. How he speaks, how
he acts is going to be different when he
knows he's out-- when she knows she's outranked, correct? Or hell to pay, right? I'm outranked in this situation. So what am I going to do? I'm going to do the
things that are needed to be done to show
in this situation that I am outranked by you. I'm going to submit myself
under this authority. And that's where
strength comes from. What he's saying to you is any
situation you're in in life-- you're in third grade, you're
a senior in high school, you're at work, you have
a mayor in your town, you have a police officer
who can pull you over, you have people who have
put up signs on the freeway saying how fast your car
can go, you have a tax code, your boss at work. Any area where you
have an authority, and He literally said,
whatever level, small or large. And like I said before,
at times the smaller the matter is, maybe
the bigger of a deal it is that you honor it. And what he's saying
is in that situation, when you sense the authority,
when you sense the hierarchy, submit yourself under it. Submit yourself
under that authority. Hupotasso. Choose to stand down. Choose to defer. Choose to yield in that moment. He says submit yourselves. Let me tell you something. The alternative is
for yourself to be submitted by somebody else. And God will do it if you won't. Because God opposes
the proud, but gives grace to the hupotassoed, to
the humble, to those who yield. Because listen to
me very carefully. God is seeking to anoint. God as seeking to bless,
but God can't very well get that anointing oil onto
your head if you won't bow down. It's real difficult for
Him to get anointing oil on top of your head while
your chin's always up, while your chest's
always puffed out, while your arms
are always crossed. Who are you to
tell me what to do? That shouldn't be the
speed limit on this. I remember when it was 85. It should be 85. Therefore, since it should
be 85, I'm going to make it-- what are you doing? You're rating yourself above. Governing authorities
don't know crap. I'm-- I know-- I, what I? Here's how it should be. Therefore since I see
it's how it should be, this is how I'm
going to make it-- what are you doing? What are you doing? What am I doing? Hey, you need to put
your seat up for landing. Oh, OK. That's going to
make a difference? Is that better? We good? Hey, I need you to buckle up. Now I don't mind-- I don't mind if she says,
hey, how's it going? Hey, we're about to land. Could you please buckle up? I'm cool with that. But when she's like,
hey, buckle up. You're not buckled. I'm like, you know
what I'm going to do? I'm going to put the
pieces together and put my hoodie over. It you're going to think it's
buckled, but it won't be. Why? Because I'm a sinner. [LAUGHTER] And in that moment, I'm like,
what are you even doing? I almost got kicked off
a plane the other day. This is a true story. Now you're listening. She literally said the
words, if you won't do this, I'll have you escorted
off the plane. I was like, yeah,
we can do this. We'll do whatever you want. I don't want to get
escorted off a plane, ma'am. She was wrong. How do I know she was wrong? Because Delta refunded the
ticket price after the fact when I talked to
the supervisors. Oh Yeah. I called them just to
say, hey, am I crazy? Because my son is
flying in a car seat that has an FAA certified
sticker on the side of it that I bought because it
had an FAA certified sticker on the side of it. Because we get on
airplanes sometimes. And getting on the plane,
she said that car seat is not FAA certified. I'm like, but the
sticker says it is. She goes, I had never
seen that car seat before. You can't use it. And I was like, [CLEARS THROAT]
um, [CLEARS THROAT] um, yes I can. It has a sticker. She goes, I've never
seen that brand. It's a new brand. It was on Kickstarter. It was a clever invention. Someone just made it. It exceeds the
FAA certification. Look. She goes, I need to
see it in the manual. I brought it. Here's the manual. I still-- He's not flying in it. Take it out. I said, ma'am he needs
to sit in this car seat. She said, if you don't
take the car seat out, I'll have you escorted
off the plane. Freakin' a, lady. [LAUGHTER] I felt hot. Really hot. So we took the car seat
out, and buckled him in with a little
pull tab buckle, which he opened up instantly. And then she came
back by and said, he needs to be buckled up. I'm like, that's why I brought
a car seat that ties him down. With the twitchy eye. So mad. Well when I wrote
Delta later and showed them a picture of
the car seat, they said she should have let it on. He should have been
riding-- in fact, we're going to give
you all the money back for your son's ticket. And the point was, in the
moment, she was in charge. She outranked me, so it
was an opportunity for me to rank myself under. I didn't do it as good as I
wish I would have, but I did it. I didn't get arrested. Are you proud of me? [CHEERS] OK. So. But-- what Peter is saying
is it's not even so much an issue about who is right. Because you can be right
but still do wrong. And so what he's saying is, he's
saying the posture of hupotasso is especially important
when they're wrong. Wow. It's espe-- he said, good on
you if you can be doing what's wrong and take your punishment. Whatever, that
doesn't matter, right? Awesome. But if you were right, and
they still slammed down on you. If you didn't cut up, but
you got the detention. If you turn the paper in, but
they're saying you didn't. Well, it's when someone is
unfair and unjust and just cruel and petty and
vindictive and capric-- those are the times
that really we're going to see our character. And you're like, well, you
know, that's nice for Peter to say all this, but my boss
is a real piece of work. Let's talk about
Peter's boss real quick. He's in Rome. The emperor is Nero, and
that's who he's talking about. He says, the emperor on down. Right. Love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the King is how one
translation puts it. So the King in that
instance is Nero. And he's saying, honor-- honor Nero. He's writing the Christians
all over the Roman Empire. Especially,
specifically Asia Minor. And he's saying honor Nero. Nero. One of the most horrible human
beings who has ever lived. Don't say that lightly. At his worst, he had
Christians randomly selected to be dipped in tar
and burnt on fire in his garden so he could see to race
his chariot at night. Crazy as the day is long. Under that leadership. Under that kind of
political landscape, Peter writes the Christians. They're like, what do we do? Right. Are we going to Boston
Tea Party this thing? Like what's the deal? Are we going to kill the beast? We storming the castle? Like, what's up? Man, this guy's a psychopath. And he's like, hey,
honor the King. He couldn't be in charge if
God didn't allow it to be so. So honor the King. Honor him. Let's pray for his salvation. Let's not give in to
the lust around us, but let's not forget we're
meant to reach these people. Let's reach these people. Come on, let's honor that king. Let's pray for emperor Nero. [APPLAUSE] Woo. The posture of hupotasso
at every level, arrange yourself under. This kind of belief goes
back to something that is really a theological basis. The theological basis
is the Lord's sake. We don't do it on the
basis of the person. I'm not going to honor
someone on their be-- I'm going to do
it for God's sake. I'm not looking for something
in you that tells me I should honor you. I'm going to do
it for God's sake. And that, that phrase is
the theological underpinning that believes in a sovereign God
who is the author of authority. Listen, you can't spell
authority without author. So if there's someone
in your life who is a boss of you on any level-- a crossing guard monitor. Right. This person has been
allowed to be in your life. That doesn't say God
approves of what they do, but they could not be in
charge if it weren't for God. Peter said the same
thing Paul did. Paul said in Romans
13-- look at this one. He's even more explicit. Let every soul-- [INAUDIBLE], say you too. You too. Be subject to the
governing authorities for there is no authority
except from God. But you don't know my boss. There is no authority
except from God. My coach on my soccer
team is such a-- There is no authority
except from God. And the authorities that
exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever
resist the authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will
bring judgment on themselves. But what about if, um,
it's like a Holocaust, and they're like killing
Jews, and I have to like, Corrie ten Boom, hide
Jews in my closet so they don't get put into the--
you know the death chamber? OK. Yes, solid point. If there's ever a situation
where Adolf Hitler is burning Jews all around you
by the millions, and you have to hide
them in your closet so they don't go into
the concentration camps, you know what, you
should totally do that. But tomorrow at work, um. [LAUGHTER] You see what I'm saying? Yeah. Because what our minds
do is they go to-- we grab for any
possible instance in which civil disobedience
would be warranted and then we apply that
exception to the rule of our everyday lives. And we feel justified in
dishonoring our president just because we didn't vote for
him, in disobeying a governor and talking bad about him
just because he doesn't or she doesn't have the same
ideologies we do. And we choose to
feel that we somehow are entitled to not
do the one thing that God said every one of
us should do on the basis of, if there certain
exceptions, certainly I will apply it to every
part of my life dogmatically. So what do you do if you
are ever told explicitly to do something that would be
illegal, or expressly sinful, or if you are by an authority
being abused in such a way as to be sexually or
physically violated? Obviously, there is a time
to disobey in Jesus' name. Accepting the consequences,
come what may. For example, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego were told to bow down
to a gold statue. They were high ranking
government employees in the Babylonian Empire. Bow down to the statue. Y'all, we can't do that. So with all humility,
deference, honor, and not a trace of
smugness or disrespect, they appealed to the King. Said King, we will honor you,
we have a great track record. We've been promoted
like 10 times because everything you asked
us to do, we've always done, but this is something
we can't do because it would violate our hearts. And we appeal to a higher
authority in this instance, and we understand. If this is going to
cost us our jobs, great. If that's going to cost us
our lives, we're OK with that. But we will serve no King
but God in that ultimate way. So you're a businessman and
you have to fly to Atlanta, entertain some clients
that your company is trying to win their business
over and your boss says, I need you to take him having
good time, whatever that means. You know. And you know that means strip
club, you know that means this. You're in a tough spot. To say, look I know this is
the thing that it's done. I know this is an area. Look, I'll take him to top golf. We can go to Chili's. I will awesome a
blossom real quick. But understanding this
may be a thing where we have to part ways, or
I can't be this anymore. I'll serve this
company, I'll serve you. I can't do that. Yes, there's a time for that. But what he's trying
to get us to see, is that the majority of our
lives aren't those times. I have never had anyone
ever tell me to sin, right. Like, you have to do this. And if that situation
ever comes-- but I've had 1,000
situations where I just haven't liked
someone, or I've chafed against their
management style, or I just haven't like the
breath, or really just that-- Well, really here's
the real issue. I don't like that they have
a position that I wish I had. Therefore, I'm going to make up
some fictitious situation that would then give me an
extenuation on doing what God's actually calling me to do. So what God wants us to do
is to go, like, OK, yeah. Those times exist
and should you come to that, and obviously
I'm not speaking lightly, if you have an authority
figure who is harming you, call the police. There's a higher
authority for that too. They answer into
that authority, yes. Yes, if you're being abused. Yes, all those things
are for sure an issue. But you know, the
whistleblower is an honor thing if there's an actual
thing happening, right. But what I'm saying is
the majority of our lives are spent in situations where
there's an authority over us we just don't like. And in those situations,
we need to honor God by honoring the authority that
he authored into our situation. And that's what we
need to know because-- this is really important,
that you get, jot this down. Rebellion leads to the
opposite of freedom. In our heads, we
think, if I could just be free of this
leadership, I'd be free. But rebelling against
that leadership actually brings us to the
opposite of what we want. And if you want
proof of that, just write this down,
the Garden of Eden. Don't eat this tree. I'm going to eat
it so I'll be free. The devil said, eat
that, you'll be free. Your eyes will be opened. They lost access to
the Garden of Eden. They were less free after
rebelling than before. I'm going into a New
Testament example. Prodigal son. Is that cool? He left his father's
house to go be free. If I just didn't have to
listen to my father's rules, I'd really have fun. OK, great. Do anything you want. Completely free. Ended up losing all freedom. No money, no power, indebted
to this man, eating pig food. And what did he long for? Rules. Longed for his father's house. Long to be under
his father there, because he realized
there was true freedom. Max freedom is always found
under the authority of God. It's submission that
leads to freedom. It's submission that
leads to us being free. It's ranking ourselves under. He opposes the proud,
gives grace to the humble. To humble yourself under
the mighty hand of God. You have to realize, this
is an upside down kingdom that we're in. The way to find your
life is to lose. The first shall be last. So it's actually
not like in UFC. In UFC, submission means
you've tapped out and lost. In God's economy,
submission means you're actually poised to
rise up in power and strength and in victory in Jesus'
name, we can submit. That's not weakness, that's
what true strength looks like. All right, that's the
problem in the posture. There's a promise attached. We have promises attached
to our obedience. And I see three of them in
the passage we just read. Promise number one is if
we all assume this posture when we face the
problem that we face of leaders that we don't
like, or leaders who are mean, or corrupt, we honor God. That's number one. And most important. We honor God. He says, this is commendable
in the sight of God when you do this. It's God's will. That's heavy language. It's God's will that you
put to silence these things. Doing good even when you suffer,
it's commendable before God. One translation
puts it this way, you bring a smile to God's face. And as God smiles down upon
you, with it comes his grace. A smile on his face, it
always releases grace. So you honor God, which is
our number one most important thing. Secondly, we impact
other people positively. In verse 15, it says
by doing good you've silenced the ignorant talk
of the foolish people. There are people
in your lives who are going to say what
they say about you, and say what they say about
you as a believer and all this. But I'm telling you,
when you just continually and constantly hupotasso,
hupotasso, hupotasso. Submit yourself. Submit yourself. I'm going to further
the dream in your heart. I'm going to run this
play with all my heart even if it's not the
play I would have called. Even if I think
it's the wrong play, eventually there's
going to come a day when it's going to muzzle those
who talk bad about you, because they're going to
see that you have a Joseph spirit in you. That you put me
in any situation, I'm going to make it better. I don't need my dream job
to live with all my heart. I called the upper
level management. All right, you're
in a prison now. What are you going to? Make this prison
cell shine, baby. I'm going to make this
thing run like a clock. And he just keeps getting
exalted, exalted, exalted, because he had that kind
of a grace on his life. You impact other
people positively. Everybody was
talking about Joseph. No matter what he went through,
he honored Potiphar, he honored pharaoh, he honored
the prison warden. He even honored the men who
had forgotten about him. When they brought him out,
he didn't bring anything against them. Even his brothers who
put him in the pit, when he had the chance
to take them all out and make them all
pay, he said, you know what, you did this
thing and it was wrong, but God had something in mind. I hupotasso under him. I'm not actually your
slave, I'm God's slave. Come on, I'm actually
looking at his authority. And he's going to
exalt me in due time. I just dare you to believe that. But it's important that that is
not a phony kind of submission. You know, that you're
not being a public David, but a private Absalom. I'm going to yield to you
here, but then the moment I'm turned around, I'm going to talk
bad about you behind your back, and run my mouth about you. And tell everybody, you know,
he took credit for that idea. It was actually mine. I'm telling you, when you get
that Joseph's spirit in you, you don't care who gets credit. You just want the
organization-- time will tell. It'll all come out in time. I'm telling you something. No one gets away with anything. And that's the beautiful
thing about this. We're not saying like, it's OK
what they're doing, it's wrong. Your boss may be a jerk. But that's going to
come out in due time. He's going to have his
own day before God. God's really good at running
the universe as a point. If you just trust him,
and keep your heart right, and keep doing what
you're supposed to do, God will take care
of all that stuff. I'm telling you something. You impact other people. And then thirdly, you
develop your character. You really do. You develop your character. As you're dealing with
these situations that are challenging and hard, God's
got something else going on, and it's your own life. Sometimes I'm convinced
God puts people into your life who are authority
figures who at times are there to chafe on you. Because it's that sharpening
that needs friction. You never grow in times
where there's no struggle. It's that struggle that
releases that strength. And really those situations
make us who we are. And guess what, Peter. My boy Peter. He is living proof of all this. I mean, he went
through it, didn't he? I mean, gosh. He had times in
his life where he thought his authority, Jesus,
did not know what He was doing. There was a time when
he pulled Jesus aside. Jesus had just told
him about the cross. I mean He had finally,
OK, here's the plan. Now that everyone's fed, now
that that guy's been healed, that dead dude I raised. OK, cool. Come on, circle up boys. Guess what? They're like, what? You know, everybody keeps
trying to make me a king? Yeah, yeah. That's going to be great. Can we get a gig in
your government after? Can I be on your right hand? That's like Peter and
John's favorite thing. Can I sit at your right
or sit at your left? He's like, nah, nah. Guess what? I'm going to die on the cross. And Peter's like, you know what? We're going--
we're pinning that. Totally solid option. But come over here. He's like, nah, Jesus, you don't
want to die on a cross, man. You need to be king. You need to be charge. You need to straighten
this world out. And you know what
Jesus said to Peter? You're not mindful of heaven. Get thee behind Me, Satan. You're just
thinking-- you're just thinking about Peter's sake. Wow. You're just thinking about how
this is going to benefit you. What's in it for Me? You're not thinking
of what God wants. You think I want
to go the Cross? I don't want to go
in the cross either, but I live my life
out for God's sake. Wow. You think that would
be enough, right? But no. Jesus gets arrested
on Good Friday. Garden of Gethsemane. Can you imagine Jesus in chains? But didn't open his mouth. Could have said the Word
and 12 legions of angels would have taken every single
one of those soldiers out. But he stood there like a lamb
before his shears is silent. Peter sees this, is like,
nah, not on my watch. Pulls out his sword and cuts
the ear off of the servant of the high priest who came with
the soldiers, because you know, he's a tough guy. There's bunch of soldiers. He's going to fight the servant. Probably the only
unarmed person. The ser-- I'm
going to fight you. He's like the smallest guy. This kid's like four feet tall
in my imagination, like right. Cuts the ear off, right? Some people are like, he
wanted to send a message. No, I think he was
aiming for the throat. OK? He totally missed. Right. He had his eyes closed. And everyone's seeing this. The dude's ear is
on the ground now. [SIGHS] Everyone looks at Jesus and
He's like, for Pete's sake. [LAUGHTER] Sticks it back on, and
then goes back to the guys and goes, as you were. Right. Like, you may continue
with the arrest now. That dude, Malchus is like-- Peter had to learn the hard way
to live his life for God's sake and not for Pete's sake. And it's the same lesson
that we need to learn too. And God is developing
us into who we're meant to be through the authority. Here's what I've
learned in life. I've learned that one
of the best ways for us to become worthy of authority is
to be given unworthy authority. And it's those situations
that develop us into who we're meant to be. One of my favorite
statements ever on this, and I've used it
before in my ministry, is from Adrian Rogers. He wrote a book called
Kingdom Authority. Highly recommend this book. And in it he said
this, and I quote, "We will never be
over those things that God has set
under us until we learn to be under those things
that God has placed over us. There is strength
through surrender." Right now, picture
whatever you dream of. Whatever you feel
like is on your heart. Down the road, your
ideal situation. One day the God
dream inside of you. Where you could be. What people have
spoken over you before. Right. And you think about that. What it involves is certain
things under your feet. And the Bible talks about what
God wants to put on your feet and the ground he
wants you to take. What. The stand He wants you to make. The George Washington crossing-- those moments are real. Right? Great. Cross that Delaware. Great, amazing. Yes, God has all that for you. But you will never
be over what He wants under you till
you learn to come under what He's put over you. Right now you're in preparation. He's training you. He's trying to develop you. And He knows what
you need to know. You can't lead if
you won't be lead. You can't be trusted if you
won't be tested and handle it well. Joseph would have been destroyed
by the power had he not first, I'm convinced, gone
through the pit, and gone through the prison, and
gone through Potipher's house. So right now you're
being developed. You're being tested. Perhaps God put
that situation there to see how you're
going to handle it. To see if you'll rise up to
who God's called you to be or if you'll take
the easy way out, and try and tear down
the person over you. And try and get to
where you're supposed to be, you got to see the
season you're in as one of development. Fortunately, in all of this. We're given a wonderful pattern
of what this looks like. Because we hear this,
we're like, ah, man. What does that even looked like? Well, there's a pattern. Verse 21. To this you were called,
because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that
you should follow in his steps. The message, the translation
said, we have a template. And we get to follow
it step by step. My next door neighbor
asked me this summer, she said, will you help
me start my lawnmower? And I was like, I don't know
how to start a lawnmower. What are you talking about? Right. Do I look like I know
how to start a lawnmower? So what I do? I got my phone out. I said, of course I will. And I grabbed my
phone and I googled the model of the lawnmower. And I have saw
this little video. And we sit there on my driveway. We watch it together. I'm like, oh, yeah. Sure, for sure. This thingy right here
is what we've got to do. But you got to do this thingy
first before you do that. And it started right up. And she went away. I was like, I'm a new man. I'm a whole new me. Right. She comes back
half an hour later. She's like, how do
you empty the bag? I'm like, all right. We're going to get
this sucker out. We looked at it step by step. This is how you release the bag. And then I said, hey, you
want to come to church? She goes, well I got
girlfriends in town. I said, they can come too. She says, will you tell them? I come inside and tell them. One little old lady goes,
if I come to your church, the roof will fall in
on me and crush me. I said, I bet you it
won't, because I'm pretty jacked up too. And they let me up in here. So they all came. And I got them seats
in the front row. And two out of three of
them raised their hands up at the invitation. It all started
with a lawn mower. [APPLAUSE] And the one lady
said, if the priests at back at where I lived looked
like you, I'd go every week. And I was like, ma'am,
I am a married man. See this right here? Little old 70-year-old lady
trying to get fresh with me. I don't think so. Tell you what. But-- [LAUGHTER] Jesus has given us an example
to follow step by step. And it's in His perfect life
and it's the scene of His death. And it's in the fact that He
didn't speak up at His trial when He could have. He could have set
the record straight. And He just, He took it. And He accepted what God
had put over Him, because He realized something bigger was-- He was more concerned
about heaven's sake than even Jesus' sake. And that's where God
wants us to get to. And I know that's a tall order,
but here's the cool thing. We have not just to think of
the pattern Jesus gave to us, we also can be motivated
by the pattern that is us. You are a pattern that
others are following. I was thinking this week
about chicken fingers. And I was thinking
about how I've seen it happen, where a waiter
comes over and she'll go, hey, you need a kid's menu? My oldest daughter. And I'm like, you
know, she's 13. You know, it's all good. We could just say she's 12. I'm like, nah,
she's actually 13. And I see my little
kids sitting there, and I see what an opportunity
it is for me to give weight to down the road, when I talk
to them about underage drinking, and when I talk to them
about the decisions they're going to make, this is
an authority situation for $6. I'm not going to
sell my character and sell my conviction
to authority. You see what I'm saying? You are a pattern
to your children. You are a pattern to
all those in your life who are going to follow you and
see how you respond to the IRS. How you respond to the
posted speed limit. How you respond to
laws on littering. And the smaller the issue is,
perhaps the more important it is, because then it's
when you get to really show, I believe in the
submission thing, and I'm going to call
you to it, but I'm also going to live it out as well. Come on, we're a pattern. And that's all hard. All of it's hard. The what, the why, the how. And that's what
we've talked about. The what. So there's a problem. And this is the posture. And the why. This is the promise. But fortunately, we have a
how in following this pattern. And the how is the power. Jot that down. The power that we have
comes from the cross. The cross of Jesus Christ
released power for us. There to be access
anytime we need it. And I believe that
power is healing. That power is
healing of our pride. Now in those moments, the
power is the healing of our ego that wants to control us and
wants to get us into trouble. That power. He says it in the text as
your wounds were healed. Because He bore our sins
in His body on the tree so that we might die to sins
and live for righteousness. By His wounds,
you've been healed. So when your old nature
wants to rise up, you can actually speak that out. That part of me is dead
and buried and paid for by Christ on the cross. I'm healed from that. I don't have to do
what I used to do. And you access that through
living a life of worship. Many scholars believe-- and
we're going to close here-- that verses 21 through 25, all
about Him as a lamb, and him? On the cross, and
paying for our sins is actually the lyrics to a
first century worship song. So maybe Peter's
talking about Nero and he's getting
himself frustrated. Just like you saw
me a little bit frustrated at that
kindly Delta agent. Maybe Peter got himself all
worked up thinking about it. And the way he calmed himself
down was through worship. And I think that the more
we're living lives of worship, the less we'll
live lives of worry and the more we'll
be able to respond to whatever God calls us to do. Come on. We can sort of
whistle while we work. In Jesus' name. You'll receive it? Father, we thank You for
this time and Your word as we just try and talk of
the journey we're on, trying to follow You imperfectly. And certainly a loaded message,
and lots of different angles, and especially within
churches, we sometimes feel entitled to speak badly
about a president or an elected official is sort of putting
a spiritual veil on it. But God, You've torn that off. You've really just exposed
something in our heart. And there may be an issue with
this leadership, the structure of this coach, this
teacher, this boss, but really You're doing
something deeper in our hearts. And we want to be developed, and
we want to be a bright light, and we want to bring You honor. And so we do pray
through that worship, we would tap into
the healing that's ours because of the cross. And so I do pray for that
spirit of humility to mark us. If that's you I'm describing
and some part of this message has touched you, and
you would just say, I want to receive that humility. I want to walk in that. I'm raising my hand
right here with you. I'm just going to ask you just
raise a hand up to heaven. Just saying, God, I want
to repent of my pride, and I want to be humble
because You oppose the proud and You give grace
to the humble. God, shine Your smile down
on us as we say, we are weak, but You are strong. You can put your hand down. I want to give, before we close,
an invitation to anybody who's here this week and you've
never responded to the gospel. You know, you've been a
church and you've maybe done some religious things,
you know some Bible verses, and you're content that
you're a pretty good person. You try hard most of the time. But the Bible says you're dead
in your sins and trespasses. Jesus didn't come to
make bad men good. He came so dead men could live. And the only way
the dead could live is through Him dying for
us, and paying our bill, satisfying our debt, and
arising from the dead. And as He released His
Holy Spirit into the world to knock on our hearts,
we could come to know Him. He wants to bring
life into your heart, to bring salvation to your soul. And I'm just going to encourage
you to realize that today's the day and now's the time. If you've been maybe sort of
dealing with this conviction, realizing I need to give my
heart to God, to get straight, to get right with Jesus. But you would think,
I'll do it next week. Or I'll do it when I'm older. I'll do it after college
or maybe next Easter I'll get right with God. Let me just tell you
that life's a vapor. And today's the day
and now's the time. Jesus is knocking on
someone's heart today. Will you open the
door and let him in? He wants to forgive you, wants
to give you peace and grace. But you have to let
Him into your life. Let mercy in. Let Him bring that healing. With every head bowed,
every eye closed, I'm going to say a prayer. If you want to be included in
this prayer, say it with me. One sentence at a time, out loud
to God, meaning in your heart. The church family
is going to pray it with us to show that we're
with you in this decision. Say this, Dear God,
I know I'm a sinner. I can't fix myself,
but I believe You can. Because You paid my bill on
the cross I can be healed. Come into my life
and make me new. I give myself to you.
