Under Cover | Student Pastor Zach Hammond

I too echo uh Pastor Ericson as we say happy birthday to Pastor Carpenter and we honor him tonight. Thankful for his leadership and we are just so so honored uh to be able to have him as pastor and lead each and every one of us. We're thankful for thankful for him. I want to say um just a little bit of details before we go into tonight's lesson. This is the part three of our series Undercover. And they're going to put up there on the screen a QR code that you could scan that'll give you some scriptures and a uh kind of an outline of what we're doing tonight. Um those of you that are old school, I still like to write write my notes out. You you feel free to do that. You don't have to you don't have to give yourself to the digital world if you don't want to. If you want to if you want to write your notes out, you can do that. But for those of you that'd like to be able to screenshot this and hold on to it, this has all the text, the scriptures that we will use tonight. And um so I hope that you can follow along. But Pastor Ericson mentioned Strong Tower Youth Camps coming up. And um for all of our students that have not yet registered or at least tagged in with Sister Roberts, you to make sure you do that because prices will go up next week. And so make sure do not do not spend any more money than than needed. Um so if if you haven't communicated with Sister Roberts or her team out there, let somebody know. Find me, find my wife, find somebody, let them know. And uh again, we want we want No Child Left Behind. We want everybody to go. Amen. So, we want everybody to be there and to experience that. And uh we're so thankful that it's right here at Marville College Undercover Part Three. We're going to segue and I'm thankful to be able to just kind of transition right from where we were on Sunday night talking about the body of Christ. And brother Asa, if you could help me, I got a little bit of some some uh ringing going on up here. Um, but we're going to we're going to transition right from talking about we we talked about the Lord uh that Jesus had a prayer that he wanted answered. It was his final prayer request that we be one. Amen. Anybody uh remember that from Sunday night? We be we need to be one, right? We need to be unified. And so we'll transition right right into that. And so, um, I'm going to I'm going to jump right in and and kind of talk through a few things just to kind of tie those two together and then we'll go to some scripture text. So, let's pray over this that the Lord would bless it tonight. I know you're already seated, but let's just throw the devil a curveball and throw your hands in the air and let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to be able to come before you tonight. But we pray over your word tonight knowing Lord that it is it is simply God not just your word but it is something that can be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path and it can shine so bright and so evident in our lives tonight Lord and that's why we are here for midweek Bible study that you would God be that light in our lives show us the things that we need to know edify the body tonight through your word in Jesus mighty name we pray everybody said amen Amen. >> As you know, we we we brought all the parts together of the body and talked about how every part is so useful and so needed. And so tonight as we go into part three, it is all about submission and authority. So I thought what better way to transition than to bring in the head tonight. This for some reason sister Helms only has one eye in this head, but we won't we won't talk about it. But it's uh not meant to be scary tonight. Don't let it scare anybody. But the body of Christ as it's depicted, you will notice that as Paul writes about the body and he talks about, he's a little bit comical as he gets into, you know, if the foot wants to be an eye and this one wants to be a that and whatever. He also references many times and we'll talk about it a little bit tonight that the head is Christ. Everybody say the head is Christ. that we are to be an extension of the head. It controls everything. The body only properly works when the head is in charge. If the body parts rebel against the head or or a signal comes through the the the body parts through the the nervous system, you can get paralysis. There can be chaos. There can be even death. And likewise in the physical also is that in the spiritual. And so we see that in the process we'll talk about tonight not only the authority of God but spiritual authority and once again honoring and respecting one another and what it means to submit to one another. What it means to submit to God. And so we'll talk through these things. And so we never get above the neck if that makes sense. So we as the body of Christ and when we start talking about the man of God and spiritual authority and submission and all those things that would simply at the highest level would just be the neck because God is the head. Are you with me? Does that make sense tonight? So all that we talked about on Sunday night is somewhat null and void. It's promiseless. It's useless. It has a lot of gaps and issues in its doctrine and flow because all of it has to be submitted to Christ. There has to be a head. There has to be Christ as the one who is in control. So disconnection brings disaster. A a a a body part that refuses the signal from the brain will become useless, will become disconnected. Even if it is present, it is disconnected. You've heard me talk about that that lame man that was healed in Capernaum. He was and when you you use the the the terms there is no different than the man that was lame at the gate called beautiful. The doctor Luke talks about he everything was present there that needed to work. The lame man that was born of four and carried and they tore the roof off. Everything was there. It was present. He had all the body parts, but he couldn't what was what was in his head couldn't be practiced in his body. And so, it's a it's a it's a spiritual uh analogy. I know that is something that is very serious. And I I grew up with a a teacher and he was my Bible teacher for all of high school. And uh he was paralyzed playing college football. And I I I would I would push him up the hill and help him and his the way he had to live and those things. I would never ever want to make light of that. I had a very good relationship with him and of of people that are paralyzed, but man, what a life that physically that creates challenges when the mind can know but the body can't operate. And that's spiritually what Paul is saying when he starts talking about Christ must be the head because we get disconnected and it becomes dysfunctional. And so any of us that are in the body of Christ, the church, the saints, the church body who rejects godly authority become spiritually isolated, vulnerable to deception and obviously extremely unfruitful. So we'll talk tonight about submission and Christ must be he must be the head. submission is a interesting topic nowadays. And I I also I always want to make sure that there is a balance of what we're talking about because many times today, you know, it's it's a little pet peeve of mine and I try not to do it, although there are times where I feel myself lean into it. But communicators and preachers and teachers, they often times when they find that subject, they want to emphasize the subject so hard that they will push that subject so hard that they kind of like push down other things that are important. Does that make sense? So just because I want to to emphasize submission tonight, you have to know in the same sense there is a need for rebellion. I know nobody was like, "Are you sure?" Yeah, I'm sure. There's a thing called righteous rebellion. There it's it's needed. You know, there's there's times where you kind of got to go against and if you don't have that in you, you're going to kind of stay stuck. If that makes sense. Let me give you an example. Rebellion is necessary but it still only happens underneath the authority of God. Does that make sense? So the body at times the that that there you you can't be uh it's like I'm never going to have any fight in me. There's a sense of rebellion but it has to be it has to be tamed if that makes sense. Okay. So rebellion repeated will end in ruin. Somebody that's always rebelling against authority. don't submit to anything would ultimately be the epitome of what we're talking about tonight. But there is a sense of the spirit that's in you that you have to acknowledge that that's good in a controlled submitted spirit. It's required at times even. We're not saying you you you should never rebel. You should never rise up. But you have to do all that underneath the authority of God. Let me give you a good example. When Moses walked into Pharaoh's court, he didn't walk in to negotiate. He walked in and he said, "Let my people go." He didn't go in and say, "Hey, Mr. Pharaoh, if you would do this, then I'll do that. if you'll take care of this and may you know maybe you know you can keep the cows I'll take the people you can keep the herds you can keep this you can no he said we're we're you're going to let them go and we're we're taking everything all right so there's a righteous rebellion but it's it falls under the context of a god who has employed him to do so he he pushes his people to rise up they'll march around the walls of Jericho they didn't just do do you understand what I'm saying tonight so when we speak in submission there there is a spirit to war and to fight and to rebel, but it still all falls under the authority and the order and the word of God. So, don't completely squash those feelings. Some of us need a little stir and a little passion, a little drive. Sometimes we become so it's like you you're just we're not robots. Are you with me tonight? We're not we're not we're not just created just to march in an order, you know, we've got to have some some some passion and some drive. And so, let's let's jump right into this. And and that's a perfect uh perfect transition. The Exodus of God's people is something that you know Mo Moses and Aaron they were brought up into Pharaoh and they said uh you know they they go back and forth and all the plagues and you know the story that that eventually it's it goes from let my people go to Pharaoh in Exodus 10 and 8 says go and serve the Lord your God and that's so powerful in itself. There's nothing more uh encouraging than the person who has you enslaved telling you to go serve your God. Huh? When the enemy is telling you to go serve God, you're doing something right. And so it's it's a it's quite the victory when what what's holding you captive is now telling you to go serve your God. But now this is a very big point and it's a very it's a very big theological discussion if you go into uh you know that that that that the whole idea of studying scripture. This is a huge point because Exodus is never about freedom. The word freedom is never mentioned in Exodus and it's this is the onset the beginning of everything that we see. He he says go and serve the Lord your God. Go and be submitted to someone else. It's never Exodus really anything that's within the authority and the structure of scripture and the structure of God ordained uh creation. It's never about freedom. It's all about the right master. It's all about the right kingdom. I've I've heard I've heard it said many time everybody's serving a kingdom. It just determines who's the king. Does that make sense? you're always going to be serving and subjected to somebody or something. So, it's it's never about freedom. It's always about finding the right master. The greatest amount of freedom that we can obtain on this earth is through Jesus Christ, our creator, redeemer, and friend. Anything else, any attempt would be an attempt at not only idolatry but to some extent autonomy, self-s serving. I want something that fits my flesh. So, and and and it sadly becomes somewhat of a description of hell on earth, if that makes sense. You say, "Well, how every man does what's right in his own eyes and they're subject to the consequences of their choices and actions. That's what hell is, right? And so it it it you you wonder why some people are living hell on earth. It's because they have no master. They are their own master. They are their own god. And therefore they find themselves in a cycle of just destruction and rebellion. And it's repeat and it's a cycle that they can't get out of. And so we want to make sure that we live within within the right kingdom. So God gave the ten commandments to a people that had just been rescued out of slavery. And so we see that submission and it brings some structure. The nation of Israel has no history but slavery up until this point. They have always been slaves. They were a a family when they went into Egypt. Now they are a nation, but they have never been free. Does that make sense? You could see the process. They went from just being a family to a nation, but they had never been they've never experienced anything but the stripes on their back and they're they're they're under subjection. They're under this this this this terrible terrible tyrant. So, we see here that it's interesting that they had no laws up until this point because you don't necessarily need laws when you're a slave. Everybody understand that he gives them the ten commandments once they are now in a place where they can serve God. Because as long as they were under Pharaoh, there was no need for a law, a free people, a truly free people in Christ. Then he gives them something. These ten commandments were not given to see if Israel could establish a relationship with God. They already had one. They were not given to see if they would he would be their God. He already was. So, we're not here to get in with God. We're already in with God. If you've got the Holy Ghost, you've been baptized into Christ. So, God's rules are not a condition of relationship. They are a confirmation of relationship. And many rebel against the head because they feel like, why do I have all these rules? Rules are a response to your submission. It's to draw me closer. is to have his mind and not my mind. It's to keep me in order and it's to keep me to make sure that I'm living a submitted life. So rules never established a relationship. The rules are given because you already had a relationship. Does that make sense? That's why many don't understand holiness and many don't understand commandments and many don't understand structure is because you don't get that until you are serving him. The >> Ten Commandments are not for those that are in Egypt. They're not for those that are in Pharaoh's court. It's for those that become submitted to the head, Christ Jesus. Does that make sense? And so rules, you've heard it before, rules without relationship always end in rebellion, a lack of submission. And so relationship is the basis. It's the little bit of tension there. I I heard a great saying and some of you will like this one, but Dennis Prager made a very powerful statement. I was listening to quite some time back and it stuck with me and uh you you probably heard it. There was a little bit of an uproar tension maybe a couple years back where every there was certain areas and certain things going on. Everybody wanted to defund the police in those areas. You heard that terminology be thrown around. And Dennis Prager, I was listening to him the morning after and he was he was making a statement and he said, "You you you could defund the police if everyone obeyed the ten commandments." Thought, man, that is brilliant, right? You you can you can you can get rid of the police. You can get rid of this structure if you would submit yourself to this structure. Does that make sense? So he's saying if you would if you would obey the ten commandments, nobody be killing one another. Everybody be loving one another. We would be honoring respecting the right people. Right? It's simple. But you have to submit yourself to something. You can't just not be submitted to anything. And so we see that tonight my attempt is to help us that by the time we leave here in just a little bit that our biblical understanding of honor and submission to God's ordained structure is clear is clear from a biblical definition from a biblical definition. the the pass the the passages that we will pull from tonight that are in your notes that they're there's some of the most clear text in the New Testaments especially to really help us with our our our our humanity to submit to Christ's order and and and these these things that we we often times struggle with. I know it is a struggle. It's a struggle within culture. You see it. It's a topic. There's so many things that we're going to talk about tonight that just go in direct opposition with the way that not only we feel, but the way that our world wants to turn. Romans 13 and verse number one. Let's read verses 1-7 together and and you follow along with me tonight. We'll stop and kind of give a little bit of of some explanation on some of these very very important words. Romans 13 and verse number one. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that may be are ordained of God. Now, this is a struggle for all of us that want to live on the side of Democrats and Republicans and this and that and you want to be this and we got Hatfields and McCoys and we don't even know. I just run with this side. I don't even know why. that's what grandma did. You know, it's like we we just do things and certain people just associate with things because that's what their family always did and whatever the case may be. And it it's always it's always a question. It don't matter if I'm talking to somebody about doctrine. Well, this is what my grandparents did, right? Talk to somebody about politics and say, "We've always voted this way. We've always and they don't really be honest with you, if you really get down to the nuts and bolts of what's actually happening in the weeds, they don't really even know why they believe what they believe. They're just doing it because that's what another generation did. And so you see things here we have to make sure we go to scripture to define and have the proper perception here. And so let's talk about that word subject. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. The word subject comes from a military word that you will hear a lot tonight. I can't pronounce it in its original lang language, but it looks like hypotaso. And so that's what I'm going to call it tonight because it's in almost every single word scripture we're going to pull from tonight. The word subject is hypotaso. That's definitely not right. And I pray that you know, brother Langanger or nobody's watching tonight, but uh it's it's a military language. And it's a it's a orderly arrangement under authority, not slavish obedience. It implies an attitude of a willing alignment under God's chain of command rather than forced compliance. It's a chu it's a choice. It's a choosing of a master. It's not a forced master. It's a choice to say I want to submit myself unto God. God, this gets into uh will and the will of man. And I don't have time to meander down that tonight, but but this is he's not going to make you serve him. He is not Pharaoh. He does not have a whip. He's not going to make you serve him. It is a choice that we make. So whether it be spiritual authority, godly authority, it's not manipulative. It's not controlling. It's not if you don't, right? Obviously, there's consequences for your actions, but it's a choice for me to get up under the covering of God and his order. All right? So Paul isn't saying authorities are always righteous or that we never resist evil commands. Pharaoh, right? But we must recognize their role as a part of God's structure even when they are imperfect. Even when it's not always the way, you know, it's it's just like you just just up and run from this or that. You say, "I'm just going to move from this government or move from this this that you remove yourself." You this the the biblical way and I want you to watch this because this is something to understand is when there are there there is imper imperfection in leadership and things that happen. He says he says here it wait until God removes them. Look at verse two. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resistance the ordinance of God. That's pretty powerful. And that they shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. He's he's talking about spiritual leadership here. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for there beareth not the sword in vain. for he is the minister of God, avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs to be subject not only for uh wrath, but also for thy conscious sake. And we'll talk about that statement here in a second. For this cause, pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon the very thing. Render therefore to all their dues. Tribute to whom tribute is due. Custom to whom, custom, fear to whom? Fear, honor to whom honor. So Paul here is is is writing to the church at Rome. And this this passage is is interesting because you have to acknowledge that this passage is likely a part of of the early Christians here. And this this kind of household co code that he is preaching to try to validate and structure bring some structure to this new body is not just some like fly by night written word. All right. This is this is similar to Titus 3 and 1 Peter 2. We'll reference here in a little bit. It wasn't just some abstract theology that was being thrown out there. This is something that you and I have to understand. This is practical instruction for the believers that are living underneath a pagan a pagan superpower if we could say it that way. So Paul himself is trying to let them know and Paul's Paul's at the place or he's writing to people that are being they're they're under this this pagan leadership. He's in prison about to be beheaded by Neero. So if anybody can relate, this guy can write from right where they're at. All right? So he he is he is showing this is uh not some naive optimism, but he is saying this is the structure of God. Okay? Okay. And I know this is difficult because some of you think, man, I just don't like uh the way certain things are done and I don't like how how you know whether again whether it be governmental or whe whether it be this, there's there's a there's a a blessing that comes with submission. He says you you have to trust God's order and trust God's plan and trust God's way even when things are not always going. He says he uses that word in verse five. He says, "For conscience sake," this elevates submission from external fear to internal conviction. If you could look at it that way, it's it's rooted in God's will. Most people stop it. They just they want to obey something at face value or they want to o obey or face it kind of comes like obey or face wrath rather, but it's a it's a thing. Paul adds this deeper motivation. Honoring God's design for ordered society as part of Christians is a part of a Christian's life, but it's also a part of a Christian's witness. Submission and honor is huge. This prepares believers for delegated authorities in every sphere, the family, the church, and the workplace. It's it is it is without a a without a doubt that in the many years as I grew up and I have been in I've been a part of just growing up and and and and people is is kind of been the the way of life and in the in how I was raised and it watches and it's it's wild. It's like the same people that have issues in their family are the same people that can't keep a job. the same people that have issues at the church folks are the same people that have issues, you know, with their teacher. It's the same thing. It's just like it they it just it resonates through your life because it is something that it has to be has to be a part of your spirit. This prepares these believers. And he's reverting back even in this statement, this conscious sake, he's reverting back to Romans 2 where he's talking about a renewed 12 and two ro he's saying it's all about the renewing of your mind. You got to make sure you got to make sure you have the mind of Christ or you're never going to submit to anybody or anything. That's what he's saying. If you don't have the right head on, the body's not going to want to do what the body was created to do. So, this passage is is a very powerful one. Now, let's look at First Peter 2 and verse number 13. We'll read down to verse 17. This passage comes from Peter's letter um to to persecuted scattered believers in Asia Minor here which would be modern day Turkey around AD62 to 64 during their increasing hostility under Nero. Peter has just reminded them that they are strangers and pilgrims in verse 11. Then immediately he calls them to radical submission here in verse number 13. Look, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him uh sent by him to look look at this. He says, "Even to those that are are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers or the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with welloing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. That is powerful. You say, man, that that there's a lot of foolishness going on. You know what puts foolish men to silence? Submission. That's what he said. And and and let let me just kind of put this in common. The last the last conversation you want to lean into is an unsubmitted conversation. The last thread you want to jump in on Facebook is the one that's talking about leadership. That's what he's saying here. I'm not telling you that there's not been wrongdoing. I'm not telling you that people haven't been people and messed up and there there's always going to be that. It was that way in the Bible. It's that way now. It's always going to be. People are going to hurt people. We talked about it in the body of Christ. There's going to be times where someone is afflicted and someone hurts and it's our responsibility to help and be a part of the body of Christ. But it never gives us never one time does it give us a loophole to not submit to the head of Christ >> to not be submitted because the moment we start speaking against uh speaking against God, speaking against God's authority, speaking against governmental authority, that's why we got to be careful. Man, I I remember being raised and I I was raised I was raised around people weren't very political. I'll just be honest with you. I still have a hard time watching the news. I don't I don't know nothing about what's going on. If you come ask me, I don't know. I'm sorry. That's just the way I was raised. But I I I remember didn't matter who the president was, you didn't speak ill of him. He walked in. Everybody stood up. Huh? Now we're blaming him for losing a basketball game. I mean, just cuz you didn't make a shot, you can't blame it because the president was here, you know? It's like I mean, it's just like you're tossed around and thrown around just like any other person. He says, "You got to you got to be reverent. You got to honor. Don't jump into those conversations. Don't jump into those feeds because you become a part of the foolish men." And and he says in verse 16, look at this. 16-1 17. as free and not using your liberty for a cloak of malishness, but as a as as the servants of God, honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. I love that 17 is so powerful. I mean, let that be your your your screen, you know, your screen saver for a few days. Put to silence the ignorance of men is a strategic evangelistic goal. Peter isn't just saying you behave a certain way to keep you from getting in trouble. You behave a certain way. He's saying the teaching that consistently honorable submission is very powerful thing to do for yourself, but it's also powerfully to be displayed for somebody to be able to watch and say, "This is what something I want to be a part of." Man, if those people they honor that person or they they they they honor others and maybe me yokeking up with them, they would honor me. Like nobody wants to be around the person that within the next the first few minutes you meet them you're just pouring out negativity about any and everybody. It's just it's it's it's not it's not going to help us. >> It's that body being a witness, right? And so we we see here that these four commands in verse 17, they they form a very deliberate, so well-written priority ladder, if we could say it that way. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King. All authority is from God. Let every soul be subject unto higher powers. Civil, family, church, workplace, honor, respect. Whoever resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. Jump to the next scripture. I'm hurrying tonight. 1 Timothy 5 and verse number 17. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. He says, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. It highlights there is a distinction. He specifically elevates the laboring in the word and doctrine as the c is as it's central to the health of the church. Again, honor those who help the body stay intact is what he's saying there in 1 Timothy 5:17. Ephesians 6, Paul writes to the church at Ephesus, verses 1-3, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord." All the parents say, "Amen." Man, thought we'd do a little better than that tonight. All the children say amen. I think that should have been everybody, but I may be wrong. I don't know. I know. I know everybody don't have kids, but everybody's a Gotcha. You get it. Glad somebody does. Children, obey your parents and the Lord. Why? Why? This is right. Right. This is right. I mean, that's I I know that's that's very simple, but it's not very it's not very popular. Why Why do we need to It's the right thing to do. It's it's the God- ordained order, right? It's it's it's right. You've got to honor your parents. Honor thy father and mother. This, he says, this is the first commandment with a promise that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Anybody want to live long? Man, anybody want to live long? I mean, some of you might be, Lord, and they're ready to go. Come and get them. Come on, get them, Lord. They're wore out. Paul is establishing this lifelong posture of honor because if we can get it in our kids, they'll become adults who still honor one another, right? It's a position thing. I've talked to our our students about this for a n number of years, a number of times. It's about position. I understand many of you tonight, you know, when when I I I say honor your parents, some of you are thinking, man, the older you get, you realize one of two things. Your parents are either really really wise or it's hard to honor them. Just be honest. You know, there was things done, things said that hurt. It hurts more now than it hurt then. It makes more sense now than it made then. I didn't know what was going on then, but I do now. And it's hard to honor them. Guess what? We still are to honor the position of parenting. Again, I I don't agree with everything the president does, but I honor the position. I may not agree with the principles. I may I may not agree with everything he says or everything that it's the same thing with my parents. I I it I never have I never have an excuse to dishonor them >> no matter what's been done, no matter what's been said because I am shortening my life. And what he is referencing physically, he is definitely referencing spiritually. >> My spiritual life comes to a halting stop >> when I dishonor those in authority over me. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. It's a lifelong blessing. I don't know about you, but I I want the blessings. I need the blessings. Amen. >> Deuteronomy refers to this. I'll spend just a couple minutes on this because I believe it's so it's it's crucial. Our students are in here tonight as some the students that need to be. I think they think some of the young ones might be. I don't know if they're in here or not, but the young ones need to get it. But those of you that turn 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, it just keeps, you know, you still need to honor your parents. And and it's something that if we can get in the hearts of our young people, this was tied to Israel's inheritance in the promised land. In the New Testament, it points to God's general blessings on families in the certain seasons and hours that they are living. It's a honor. It's an orderly honor. That's what he wants. It's an orderly honor. We want to make sure that our kids learn to respect and honor. It's a lot of the logic that we ended with on Sunday night. How can you say you love God whom you have not seen, but you claim to love? You can't love your brother. I'll get it right in a minute. You can't love your brother whom you have seen. That logic is the logic of God's order. I've said it many times, but how can you say that you honor your pastor who you see three times a week, but you dishonor your parents who you see every day? How can you say you honor pastor when he walks in the room, but you disrespect your teacher every morning? Right? What kind of what kind of culture, what kind of Christian are we are we establishing in the mind of the people watching us at work when we claim to love our pastor and be so submitted that we even will we will even give up sacrificial things. We will dress a certain way, do certain things, but then we are so opposed to anything and everything in the workplace, and we stir up strife, and we speak against the boss, and we speak against one another, and yet we claim to be submitted to God. That's not God's order or God's logic. That's a body out of sync. So, it does not look attractive. It does not look like anything anybody wants to be a part of. And it weakens our witness. I've heard it time and time. My if my parents were good parents, then I would no work that way. The Bible's Bible's perfect order is what we need to be a part of because it gives us these powerful promises. 1 Peter 2:17, we'll keep moving here. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the fraud. Honor all men. Basic human dignity. Hold the door for somebody. Right. Yes, sir. Lord, I'm I'm going to sound like a old fogy right now. Like I have been stopped mid conversation in my 20s by my father. Yes sir. Like third party. Not to him. Yes sir. Yes sir. Yes sir. Sorry. >> Why? Because the Holy Ghost is not the only evidence of what's in your heart. How I talk to my elders, how I talk to my parents is evidence of what's in your heart. Could I speak to our strong tower students for a moment? You want to There there's nothing stirs me up. You can ask my wife. I get at home and I'm in like righteous wrath because everything within me wanted to get up in that dude's grill and say, "Hey, don't talk to your mama that way. it like it makes me want to I lose my mind. >> Why? Because we are on a path of destruction. >> You are so disconnected from the head. If you can't honor young man, don't talk to your mom that way. >> Young young lady, don't talk to it's not going to take you anywhere. Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. >> Listen. Obey. Honor. It's it's part of the order, but it's also in my opinion, you know, I I I'd rather be told, hey, hey, you don't have to say yes, ma'am to me. You don't have to say yes, sir, to me. I I'm 37. I'd still say yes, ma'am to the waiter. >> I I It's basic human dignity. >> It's just respect. And I I I'll go ahead and throw this again. I know I'm getting a little bit into the church church world, and I know we got other people. I'm speaking to our church tonight. That's why we still call people brother and sister. >> We honor the brotherhood, right? The sister, you are a part of the body. We're all under one head. Brother so and so. Sister so and so, right? It's just respect. It's just honor. It's reminding us that we're all a part of the body of Christ. You're my brother. You're my sister. Guess what that does? It ought to make me treat you a certain way. It ought to remind me that we are a family. We are the body. >> We are the body of Christ. Lord, help me get back to my notes. Jesus name. But submission, hear this. If you don't remember anything else tonight, remember these three three words. Submission shows salvation. It resonated in my spirit today as I prayed over this. Just God, help me to say something that somebody will remember. Submission shows salvation. I'll show you in just a minute. There there's there is a process beyond just honor all men and love the brotherhood. F fervent family of the love of God inside the church. Fear God. Have your ultimate allegiance and honor to God. Honor the king. That's civil authority. This order is deliberate because you can honor the king without fearing him because your highest honor belongs to the fear of God. Does that make sense? It protects believers from the idolatry and the misuse of of of governmental things. And that that that is a perfect structure. But submission is going to be the most powerful thing that we not only do, but it'll be the most powerful witness because it's not common to our culture. And it's it's not a common response within us. Everybody just wants to do what they want to do. It's it's it's sometime sometimes even hard to fathom of the text here or we we could pull the context. Some some people they they and and I I see it in our lives. We we just don't want to we just don't want to submit. It's just not natural. This teaching here that we're reading was written to a people who had almost no legal rights. He is again, he's talking to people that are slaves. They're going to be beaten. They're going to be abused. They're going to be It's hard for us to fathom some of the things that are written here. We're just trying to apply it to our western world and our modern minds. And we're sitting here and it's like that these people are about to be beaten. They're killed for very small consequences. And Peter's telling them not to stay in their situation forever, but no matter what you do, you got to remain submitted. You got to stay in the God order. And so man, we're over here and we're we're just talking about small matters. These people are talking about their lives. Paul refers to himself in scripture as an ambassador in bonds. He makes statements like, "Remember my chains. I am bound by the love of God." Many people are going to look at your submission and it's going to look like you are bound. But I'm thankful that when I'm submitted to God that I'm wrapped up in the love of God. It's the greatest freedom that we will ever ever obtain. I'm thankful. I'm thankful that this word is what keeps me. I submit to it and it keeps me. It keeps me on days when it's everything's not going great, right? It keeps me. It binds me up. It wraps me up. It's depicted in such a such an odd way. And I know we sing about liberty and freedom in a way that we're just like this, you know, bird that's been freed out of a cage. And that's not at all what the scripture depicts. He says he's making us free. Know the truth. Submit to the truth. Submit. be submitted to the word of God, the mind of God, the man of God, all the things that we've talked about. And then all of a sudden, he says, "This is what you get. These are the promises you get when you wrap yourself in the word of God." So, make sure that when you look at freedom, young people, no matter who you are, if you're on social media, wherever you're at, make sure you're looking for a biblical definition, not what something the world is trying to term or describe. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey them that rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch over your soul as they that give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you." You say, "What's he talking about?" He's talking about the man of God. He's talking about uh us submitting ourselves to someone who watches over our soul. Again, just like that prayer request that we be one can only be fulfilled through the church. It can only be fulfilled through the church. You can't fulfill that prayer request from God or the prayer request from from that that we preached about on Sunday night. You can't fulfill that all by yourself. You got to be in covenant with one another one another. Same thing here. The only way we can fulfill any of that is to be submitted to the man of God in our life. If there's anything that I could be a testimony to you tonight, I don't have a great testimony of addiction. I don't have a great testimony of telling you that I come out from a bunch of things within the world and I've smoked or done this or done that. But I can tell you that the only blessings and anything that I am today all came through one word, submission. I if if I if I was going to be wrong, it was going to be because somebody that I was submitted to was telling me to do something wrong. Why? Because I believe and I have seen people be blessed in the midst of a terrible circumstance because they were submitted. That's how powerful God's order is. That's how powerful this principle is. It is the main it is one of the main foundational. We don't talk about it a lot because it's not as po not very popular in our world and definitely not in our flesh. But he says obey them. They're watching for your soul. They're watching for your soul and they want they're going to give account unto God. And let it be that they do it with joy. I want pastoring me to be something that pastor does with joy and not grief. That it be profitable unto me. Right? It's a it's a it's a joy to pastor. That don't mean everything's always perfect and never there's nothing bad, but that you're using the the ministry and you're using your submission to not only benefit you, but to benefit the kingdom. Most of the time, the spirit of rebellion is manifested against what makes you most uncomfortable. And so many of us when we attempt to submit to God, then we struggle attempting to the man of God. But we have to understand tonight they both go hand in hand. They cannot be separated. In fact, it's it's it's referenced as the watchman on the wall. The wall represents the church. The watchman represents that spiritual authority that God has put in place and ordained and and anointed of God to be the watchman for your soul. Those two work hand in hand together. What good is the wall without a watchman? And what good is the watchman without a wall? They have to work hand in hand. So we see this and and and man, there's so many different things and I don't want to get distracted here, but you're you're living in such a polluted world and we're living in this this day and age where we're hearing and information is being thrown around that makes us want to question authority, question authority, question authority. You question the president, you question the news outlet, you question, is it real? Was it made by AI? The spirit of questioning is the spirit of the enemy. And so be careful that that questioning spirit because it's ultimately and I again I know there I've said many things that you've heard me say before but questioning only comes in two forms revelation and rebellion and rebellion is against authority at if you're questioning to find a loophole to get out from up under the covering of God and the covering of spiritual authority you are putting yourself out of the god orained order for every person created. And so I struggle when I hear people and I struggle with the questioning and saying, "Well, well, you know, I just don't necessarily agree with this." And I don't necess I talked to a lot of people that are being pastored by a lot of other folks and I'm always like, "Hey, you better be careful. That's not just another person." Well, I don't I don't I don't know about this. My grandfather used to always say, man, I heard him say it multiple times and Lord, it's not popular today, but he said, he said they, you know, I I'd hear somebody come up now and and they were questioning him about about money in the church. And he said, "Brother, do you trust me with your soul?" Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He said, "But you don't trust me with your money." Again, the logic don't make sense. You wouldn't trust them with a decision, but you're trusting them to be the watchman of your soul. Got to make sure you're not falling prey to what's being scrolling, what's going on on the news feed just because this one's doing that and that one's doing this and this. We can't just abandon all order of God because all of a sudden now you see way more than they did two generations ago. >> The same stories, the same spirits, the same issues of rebellion are all right here in the Bible. We now just get to see them all. When you wake up, it's all there for you to see from sea to shining sea. Everything negative you could possibly read. Everything your flesh wants to feed. And those leaders that God has ordained are working to give account. It's a responsibility. On judgment day, pastor will give answers to God for how they watched over the souls of this church. This verse flips the focus from the congregation's response to authority actually helps or hinders their leaders ability to give them account with joy. Submission is the structure of us all living for God. And unless we see it that way, we will always struggle. Look at number 16. And I'll give you an example real quick. They numbered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them, you you take uh much upon seeing all the congregation are holy. Every one of them and the Lord is among thee. Wherefore you lift ye up yourselves above the congregation Lord. That's number 16 and three. If you want to read that story, this is the story of Kora's rebellion. Kora was a Levite along with Dayan and Abram and 250 leaders who come against Moses and Aaron. That's God's assigned authority. And they use this classic example of partial truth. And this is what you're facing in our world today. Same spirit here in the Bible. Partial truth using it against a a spiritual leader. And it's rebellion against them. So equality, hear this. Hear this. Equality was never intended to eliminate leadership. That's what Kora tried to do. That's the spirit of the age. We're all holy. You're right, Kora. You're right. But you can't use a right to exempt you from submission. Kora correctly recognized that all of God's people were holy, but failed to recognize that holiness does not remove distinction or calling. God's people may be equal in value. The foot, the hand, the eye, right? We we preached about it Sunday night. But God's people may be equal in value, but they're not identical in responsibility. And that's hard for people to fathom. Identity can become dangerous when it matures faster than responsibility. I'll say that again. Identity can become very danger dangerous when it matures faster than responsibility. A person can discover who they are that they they they they can discover who they are before they understand what they're there for. And Kora learned that that that he was holy, but he never learned what to do with that revelation. And that's a scary thing. So instead of carrying the burden for God's people, he used equality as an argument to rebel against those that God had placed over him over and over again. That's just one story that plays right into the spirit of our age. Submission is everything that we need. Judas, he's not a submitted individual. He gets he gets tripped up over worship and over money. Both require submission. Worshippers and givers rarely backslide. Just I know it's quiet, but submission is the shadow of his wings. Submission is the covering. submitting our time and talent, treasures, everything that God It opens up the windows of it opens up the blessings. All these other things shall be added unto you. I'm hurrying. I know we're past past we're getting close to that time. Take note of Ephesians 5:21 as we see that perfect order re just reemphasizes under the Lord. It radi radically elevates our uh the the family and shows us that order and and we'll talk about that a little bit later in the series as well. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7. That's our closing text tonight. A very powerful one verse command to serve to serve one another. James 4 where the apostle confronts worldliness and pride and envy and division in the church after calling believers to humble themselves and draw near to God. In verses 6 through8, James gives this very practical, very practical process. Submit yourself to God and then you can resist the devil. This promise is clear. I don't know about you, but I've already read a number of promises that come from submission. It makes me want to really make sure that my life is submitted to God. The promise is clear. When we rightly align under God's authority, the enemy must flee. Submit yourself. That same word that I can't pronounce. I won't even try. Is the same military word used in all the passages. Romans 13, 2 Peter 2, Ephesians 5, Hebrews 13, James ties all the delegated authority back to its source. Submit ultimate submission to God. You cannot effectively resist the devil while rebelling against God's appointed authority. There's some things we simply fight because we find ourselves out from under the covering of God. That's I know I know it's hard but to examine ourselves tonight would be to say Lord I submit myself to you. I sub I submit myself to the the head but I also submit myself to the neck and that is your pastor. Submit yourself to the spiritual authority that God's put in your life because that's his ordained order. And you don't get one without the other. And I want you to watch he he he puts that verse number seven there. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he'll flee from you. And then it gets really good. You talking about a plan. Draw nigh unto God. Verse eight. If you could keep scrolling with me, that would be awesome. I know I didn't give it to you. Verse eight. Draw nigh unto God and he'll draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. James is always so kind in how he writes. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he he will lift you up. He will lift us up. As you stand to your feet tonight, let me show you what you just read. James 4 7-10. If you don't again, grab grab a hold of this tonight. Grab a hold of this passage. James 4 7-10. Submit is number one. Submit. Resist. Draw near to God. Cleanse ourselves. Mourn over sin. Humble yourselves. And he will lift you up. That's quite a That's quite a process. That's quite a plan to live by. I believe if we all ordered our life by that plan, it'd be a pretty good life because in the midst of every step is a promise. Every step there's a promise because the first step has promises like long life. All these things will be added unto you. Just the first step and then we end in victory. We end in being able to see. And resist is not just this thing where he he he's there. resist is he flees. He runs. He's not here having a conversation. So in my submission is ultimately my victory. And so I want you to see this tonight. This is our this is our visual for the evening. When I make him my head, it enables me to put his head underneath my feet. when I make him when I submit to him when he becomes the head then the end of that cycle humble yourself submit yourself it's a process James 4 7 through10 make sure we we we we I wish you could somewhere write that down I don't know if we can make a post of it or something but that process is so powerful because if I submit to God and I submit to the man of God and I I I begin to love one another that body is then oh man it's enabled like never before and then All of a sudden, he says, "You'll crush Satan underneath." The ultimate victory is to see what was challenging you. The ultimate victory, let's go back to the top where we started, is Pharaoh saying, "Dear God. Go serve your God." I'm tired of looking at you folks. I've lost everything. Yeah, we we got bugs everywhere. We got frogs everywhere. We got people dead. Just go serve your God. When you submit, you'll see victory and promises in your life. Would you raise your hands? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to be able to come together and hear your word tonight. Lord, you've been better than good to us, Lord. And we want to continue to apply every everything in your word, oh God, to our lives, Lord. Let us order our steps in your word. Order our steps in your order tonight, Lord. And we'll be so careful, oh God, Lord, to not only walk in it, God, but to give you glory and honor for every blessing that comes as we live under Lord's submission to you. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen and amen. Would you clap your hands to the Lord tonight? Shake hands with somebody. Tell them you love them. Tell them it's great to see them in the house of the Lord tonight. And you can be dismissed.