Kingdom culture

Okay.

Somehow I'm here teaching, so this is quite a no-not-everything.

Oh dear. We won't go there.

Okay.

So today's topic is, I didn't have a title actually, but Chawa was asking me,

and I guess if we had to pick a title, it'd be Kingdom Culture-Order.

So today we're going to talk about order. What does godly order look like?

So I'm just going to pray.

Father,

my real true desire and heart for this message is that your heart just emanates from it.

That as we listen about order, that we take this principle in,

whether we understand it or not, or we agree or not, or all these things,

Father, that we would first see your heart.

That all things that you created out of your awesome wisdom were for our benefit.

That it was for our good, and so that we can function optimally and excellently.

And so that we can do that together, and that we can show the world what Kingdom Culture can look like.

So Father, that's my desire, and I trust that this is the desire of this body and those watching.

So Father, help us to take it that way.

That this is from your heart, this is from your wisdom, and that you are a good, good, good God.

And that you don't change in that aspect in all that you do.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Alright.

Jeevan joked that if there's no notes, that there's always the danger that preachers will go on forever and ever.

But I'm not a preacher, and I don't have ten pages, and I have notes, so we're good.

Okay, so what is order?

So there are two systems that God put in place from the very beginning.

There's a system of grace, and then there's a system of order, or sometimes it's called government in the Bible.

Under grace, all are equal.

There's no limits, and there's no boundaries.

But under grace, God, out of his wisdom, put it in place as his divine arrangement of things.

So then on one hand in grace, there's freedom, there's absolute freedom.

But then under order, God has put that in place to bring it into, provide boundaries for us.

So that actually freedom doesn't, freedom is not safe actually without boundaries.

So it seems kind of counterintuitive.

But God knew in his wisdom that we needed boundaries to keep us safe, and so that we know where we stand.

And to keep us in order with each other as well.

So if we want to look at a definition of order, it basically means the divine arrangement.

So God's arrangement of authority relationships.

Order is God's divine arrangement.

Hello, welcome.

And so God's divine arrangement of authority relationships.

So it only exists actually if authority is recognized.

When I was thinking about order, I realized actually order is like the backbone of kingdom culture.

It's actually what tells us where to situate ourselves with each other, and it holds things and us in the right place.

So with order, there's rank, there's boundaries, and there are responsibilities that come straight from the wisdom of God.

One thing that I felt God reminding me to be really clear is that order is not about who is greater or less.

And that wasn't even actually on God's mind from the very beginning.

In Genesis 1, 27, he's very clear.

God created mankind in his own image.

In the image of God, he created them male and female.

He created them.

And then in Ephesians 1, 26, 28, it says,

So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith.

For all of you were baptized into Christ and of clothed yourselves with Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor there is female or male.

For you are all one in Christ.

So if we look at the system and principle of order, it's really about relationships.

Because we're relational beings, and we're under a relational God.

We're made by a relational God.

So order then is about how do we function most excellently with one another and with God.

So as kingdom culture people, we really need to understand how critical it is to live under order.

And how important this is to God actually.

And how important it is to how he designed us and the world.

There are so many examples actually of things going terribly wrong for people in the Bible.

When they stepped out of order or did not live under order.

One example is right from the beginning where Adam rejected God's order actually.

And God's direct rule in Eden by taking fruit from the tree and disobeying.

And then another example came in 1 Samuel 8 where the Israelites rejected God's government and system by demanding a king to be placed over them.

Okay, so living under order.

So something we have to remember is that the one who first covers and covers all of us is the Father.

So submission to divine order here on earth is actually submission or yielding first to the Father and to his principles.

And then we submit to people and structures of order.

And then we submit to the Father and to his principles.

And then we submit to people and structures of authority.

So I'm just going to say that again.

The one who first covers and covers all is the Father.

So then submission to divine order here on earth is actually first submission or yielding to the Father and his principles.

And then we submit to people and structures of authority.

So we get the privilege actually to administer his kingdom.

And his kingdom culture and reign by being head or covering someone or by coming under someone.

And everybody does or can do both.

It's not just one or the other.

And nobody is excluded from this.

So when it comes to order there are two positions that we can be in.

A. We come under someone or B. We put ourselves over or cover someone.

Another way to look at this is headship.

That's what Christ says.

And yet our starting position must always be as one under.

Even if we're over somebody or a body we need to be under somebody's covering.

And we see that like we are under Jacob but we know that Jacob is under others.

And it just keeps going on and on.

And ultimately they are always under Christ.

And so there's never somebody who is not under somebody actually if we trace it back.

And when they're not under somebody that's when we see issues usually.

And so that was the model that Jesus set.

He was over everyone.

Yet he always stayed under the Father.

In 1 Corinthians 11.3 it says, But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ.

And the head of the woman is man and the head of Christ is God.

And Jesus also had earthly parents who he was under.

So he demonstrated that to us on earth.

So he for however long he was on earth he lived under his parents.

And he also demonstrated that was John the Baptist.

That even though Jesus came and had authority and all of that was there.

Jesus first recognized John the Baptist authority and that he was there first actually.

And so Jesus came to him in Matthew and said asked to be baptized by John.

And when John tried to deter him saying I need to be baptized by you.

And do you come to me?

Jesus replied let it be so now.

It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.

And part of that is fulfilling right relationships.

And that's following the order that was set.

And then John consented and baptized Jesus.

Okay.

So the first was there are two positions when we come in.

When it comes to order.

A. It involves either we come under somebody.

Or B. It involves putting ourselves over or covering somebody.

Two.

Order requires an active stance.

It is not and never is a passive stance.

It requires that I actively choose to surrender my will to someone or to come under someone.

And something to remember is that when the submission that I desire from someone that may be under me isn't there.

That it's not up to me to force it to happen.

And Jesus was such an example of this.

He never forced or compelled anyone to submit to him.

And so it's not ours to forcefully take or make happen.

Jesus always served those who should have submitted to him actually.

He always served those who submitted to him.

So one example is you know just because when I got married.

There is the principle of order that Sheldon is the husband and he is the head of the family and he is the head of the wife.

Yes that principle is true.

But it doesn't mean that I live under that just because I got married.

It's there but I'm not living under it.

So I need to I needed to at some point choose to recognize his authority.

So that was the first part.

I needed to choose to recognize his authority.

And then to put myself under that.

And to come under that.

And I need to stay under that.

So it's not just about coming under but it's also about staying under.

Do I keep coming to him?

Do I keep acknowledging and recognizing that Sheldon has been put over me?

That he is there to protect me?

That he is there to cover me?

So three.

What kind of authority relationships are we talking about here?

So in the Bible it talks about I forgot how many there are.

So the first one they talk about is the government and citizen.

So that's in Romans 13.

It says let everyone be subject to the governing authorities.

For there is no authority except that which God has established.

The authorities that exist have been established by God.

And I think it seems contrary but we actually need to take three verses down.

Romans 13, 4 in order to understand it.

That the one in authority is there for our good.

So that's Romans 13, 4.

And that when we take that then we can actually really understand.

And take in the principle that all authority has been placed by God.

And that they have been put there for our good.

The second kind of authority relationship is employer to employee.

And that in Colossians 3, 22 it says slaves obey your earthly masters in everything.

And do it not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor.

But with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

Masters provide your slaves with what is right and fair.

Because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

That's Colossians 4, 1.

The third one is in marriage, husband and wife.

And that's in Colossians 3, 18 to 9.

Wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord.

Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

The fourth one we have is family.

So that's parent and child.

And that's in the says children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right.

Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with the promise.

So that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

Fathers do not exasperate your children.

Instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

And then the last one it talks about is church leadership.

So in 1 Peter 5, 5 it says in the same way you who are younger submit yourselves to your elders.

All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.

Because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.

So within church leadership it applies to pastors, the priesthood and also to leaders in the church that have been placed over us.

So when I was thinking about this, these authority relationships are going on all the time.

And sometimes they're not as clear as we think.

So one of the things I think we need to do is to start recognizing and becoming aware of them.

And in Sheldon and my example, Sheldon is my husband and I come under him and he is the head of our family.

But then when it comes to worship, actually he chooses to come under me.

Because I have been the appointed leader in that area.

And so in this example, even though he is my husband and I am always under him, actually within the example of worship, he actually chooses to come under me and my authority.

And so sometimes it often looks like that actually.

Where in one area we are under somebody but in another area they may be under you or may be reversed in another area.

One really good example that Sheldon reminded me about government and citizen authority relationship was while we were in China some years ago,

we visited a very large Christian foster home and a community.

And something that they did was that they made a point of honoring the local government and to recognize their authority and to make sure that they lived under it.

And so for example, one of the things they always without exception did was that even though people brought children to their home directly to drop them off,

they would take those children and then go to the police, always.

Because all children in China are actually under the government.

They are not under families, they are actually ultimately under the government.

And so they recognized that authority and so they would first take the children to the police.

And then if the police released and put them back in their care, then they would take the children home.

And so even though it seemed like a small detail, they were very relentless and faithful in doing this and without grudging.

And what we saw was that this home actually in turn has received incredible favor from the government.

And has been able to prosper in an area, in a village that otherwise was totally condemned by locals.

Was totally written off and was a total gambling pit and all these things.

And this village has transformed night and day.

And so we see how blessing comes also when we stay under order and this divine arrangement of authority relationships that God has put out for us.

So because we're dealing with principles and we're not talking about rules, order is a principle and not a rule.

And so it may not necessarily be black and white in terms of how to go about things.

What it actually looks like to come under order or to cover someone.

And it's possible to carry out submission on more than one level at the same time.

And so ask God for wisdom. Ask God for wisdom on how to stay under order.

He's very creative actually. He has tons of ideas. So let's take advantage of him.

Let's ask the Holy Spirit. And one of the examples that came up was that when Jesus was asked about the coin in Matthew 22, 17 about paying taxes.

His response was, give to Caesar what is his and give to God what is his.

So in that way he honored both. And so ask God. Ask God for wisdom on how to stay under order.

So instead of trying to find formulas and to create rules for how to be with one another, let's try to stick to applying a principle within each authority relationship.

Take it case by case. Because we're not here to write like an underwriting overriding rule for everything.

We're here trying to live out a godly principle and applying that to each authority relationship that we have.

Yeah, my last thought was, this is very short I think.

I know. I know you don't mind.

But you know what actually, I'm just going to quickly go through the whole thing.

So I'm going to go through the whole thing.

So I'm going to go through the whole thing.

So I'm going to go through the whole thing.

I know. I know you don't mind.

But you know what actually, I'm just going to quickly go over, just quickly I'll review the points and then I'll say my last thought.

Because today it feels like a, let's remember and get these main points and then let's let that sink, let the Holy Spirit sink that in for us over the next few weeks.

So first we said order is a divine arrangement of authority relationships.

And it only exists if authority is recognized.

It is not about who is greater or less.

Second, the one who first covers and covers all is the Father.

So submission to divine order here on earth is ultimately first yielding to the Father and his principles.

And then we submit to people and structures of authority.

We get the privilege of administering his kingdom and kingdom culture and reign by being head over someone who is greater or less.

Or by coming under someone and everybody does or can do both.

Nobody is excluded from this.

And how does this look like?

One, there are two positions we can be in when it comes to order.

We either come under someone or we put ourselves over or cover someone.

Another way to look at this is headship.

To order requires an active stance.

It's not or never is a passive one.

It is a willing choosing and putting down of my will so that I can come under the authority of someone who has been placed over me.

Three, what kinds of relationships are we talking about here?

We're talking about government and citizens.

We're talking about employers and employees.

We're talking about mass marriage, so husband and wife.

We're talking about family, so parents and children.

And then we're talking about church leadership.

Those who have been placed as leaders in the church and pastors and the priesthood.

So my last thought is I was thinking just about my experience of living under order.

And I found that when I live under order, especially with Sheldon, when I willingly come under and stay in his covering and protection, I don't need to fret about being first.

I don't need to fight to be acknowledged or fight for my value or worth in this relationship.

Why? Because I know that we are equal by grace.

I know that we are well loved sons and daughters, both of us.

Because we're loved and so highly thought of, there was a system put in place to help us function well and optimally together.

So let's, even if we don't commit to trying it out this week, let's commit to at least wrestling with this.

Taking it on and asking the Holy Spirit to help us.

What does this look like lived out in our lives?

What does this first look like lived out in our families?

In this church body, never mind outside, but what does it actually look like here?

And let's show, let's show that we're not just talking about the church, but also the church.

And let's show, let's show the world.

Because it's possible, it's doable.

Jesus never did it because it's impossible.

He did it because it's doable.

And we have the Holy Spirit, so it's absolutely possible.

So that's what I have.

Thanks, Jane.