House Rules: Week 15, 1 Timothy 6:1-2

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All right, so today we are in uh 1 Timothy chapter 6, and uh it's the last chapter of the letter.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

And Paul, the guy who wrote this, he's one of the apostles of the church, and he he writes this letter to a young man named Timothy, who's been sent to kind of uh lead this church in a city called Ephesus, and uh and they've got a lot of problems, and so he's been dealing with all these leadership issues and all these other big challenging issues all throughout it.

And now we come to chapter six, and it's the end of the letter.

And I don't know how this worked for Paul.

I don't know how you know how writing something out on a scroll would have worked.

I don't know if he's if he's you know writing away and he gets, he goes, Oh no, I've only got that much scroll left.

I gotta wrap this puppy up.

I don't know if that's what he thought.

I don't know how that would have worked at all.

But I do know that it's not uncommon if you're reading one of Paul's letters, for uh for you know when you get near the end, when you get near to that last chapter, that it just turns into this rapid fire, right?

And it's just one big topic after another as Paul kind of brings all this kind of like like important but yet last minute stuff into the letter.

And and so we see this often in his work, and that's certainly the case here in 1 Timothy chapter 6.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

And so right off the bat, 1 Timothy chapter 6, the first two verses deal with an absolutely huge topic.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

They deal with the topic of slavery.

And you look at that and you go, you're gonna deal with slavery in two verses?

How does that even even work?

Because can we all agree that slavery has had a profound, far-reaching impact on our country?

Absolutely, it's had a massive impact.

And can we agree that that this topic for many people feels intensely personal?

Can we agree?

And so when you come to chapter 6, you go, wow, two verses.

How does that even work?

We need to understand that Paul is writing into a context, into a group of people who had their own set of experiences with slavery.

And he's writing into a group of people who, as they looked back across the Bible, they understood what it had to say to them about slavery, perhaps in a slightly different way than we might.

And so what we're gonna do today is we're gonna look back really kind of across the pages of the Old Testament and New, and we're gonna try to build a bit of an understanding about what the Bible has to say about slavery, because in our culture right now, today, there is real confusion about whether or not the Bible supports or opposes slavery.

I've got a spoiler in there, by the way, I believe the Bible opposes slavery.

And verses like chapter 6, 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 1 and 2, are often used by people.

1 Timothy 6:1

It's oh no, the Bible fully supports slavery.

These are a couple of verses that people would lean, look at, and say, see, right there it is.

It's it's permissible.

And I would say that's just not the right way to look at it.

So we're gonna have to do an awful lot of background work to get there.

Does that make sense?

And so let me just make you a promise.

Uh this is, I've been here almost 21 years.

This is the longest sermon introduction I have ever given in 21 years.

Okay.

So the sermon introduction is gonna go like, I don't know, it's gonna feel like forever, probably, but it's gonna go a really long time.

And then we're gonna get to the passage kind of near the end, and then we're gonna wrap up with a couple of actionable things that you and I need to be doing with what God says to us in this important topic.

Okay, so are you with me?

Okay, and y'all ready for this?

Because it's gonna, it's gonna be a lot.

It's gonna be heavy because the topic is so heavy.

Slavery has been a part of the human experience almost from day one.

I mean, it goes all the way back.

It's an ancient practice.

And when you look all the way back at the beginning of humanity, you realize what a great tragedy that slavery is.

Because when you look at how God created us, it's clear slavery wasn't what he wanted for us or what he had in mind.

For example, look at Genesis chapter 1, verse 27.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image.

He created him in the image of God, he created them male and female.

So in whose image were we all created?

Whose?

We were all created in God's image.

Every single one of us, every single person on this earth has worth and dignity given to us by God Himself.

And it doesn't matter what language you speak or where you were born or the color of your skin, every single one of us is made in the image of God.

And if you keep reading through Genesis chapter 1 and 2, which tells us all about how God created the heavens and the earth and us as well, you'll notice that you'll find male and female, you'll find husband and wife, you'll find the first family, but you don't find slave and master.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

No human being is the property of another human being in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

So you have to wonder well, if slavery is ancient, if he goes all the way back to near the beginning of the human experience, but God did not establish it, then where'd it come from?

And that brings us to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

If you know the Bible at all, you know what happens in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

That's the chapter that tells us about Adam and Eve rebelling against God.

And through their rebellion, sin enters the world.

And you all, let me just tell you, if you look at the scripture, once sin is introduced and unleashed into the world, it just goes into absolute hyperdrive.

So Genesis chapter 1 and 2, everything is perfect, everything is good, it's it's it's amazing, right?

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

By Genesis chapter 4, we've got murder.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

And then by Genesis chapter 6, human wickedness has come become so incredibly pervasive.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

Just listen to what the Bible has to say about it.

In Genesis chapter 6, verse 5.

Genesis 6:5

When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth, and that listen to this, every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time.

The Lord regretted that he'd made man on the earth and he was deeply grieved.

Do you see how far we have fallen from Genesis chapter 1 and 2?

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

I mean, we are in a very different place today.

Look at that.

Every inclination of the human mind was nothing but what?

Evil all the time.

And y'all, I would submit to you, that's the kind of mind that envisions slavery.

That's the kind of mind that is able to think, oh, it's good for one person to dominate another person, take away their rights, and all that goes with it.

That's a mind that's nothing but evil.

So we need to understand as we think about this incredible topic, that slavery is not a part of what God created for us.

Slavery is a part of the wreckage of the fall.

And that wreckage spreads throughout the ancient world to the point that slavery becomes a common feature in virtually every civilization on the planet.

In fact, when you come to the second book of the Bible, right, which is the book of what?

Exodus.

When you come to the book of Exodus, it opens up with an entire nation, the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.

And what are the what is their circumstance?

Where are they?

They are in what?

They're in slavery in Egypt, right?

And here's what God says: God sees them in their slavery.

And in chapter 3 of Exodus, he says this in verse 7.

Then the Lord said, I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors.

I know about their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, because the Israelites' cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.

God looks at the suffering of his people, and he sees their misery, and he hears their cries, and he knows of their suffering.

And he brings Israel out of Egypt and he begins to form them into a nation.

Now, you would think here, right, that is as he's forming this nation of former slaves into a country, right?

What would he have for them in terms of how they themselves would view slavery?

He's forming this nation, and he's forming it in the midst of a world that's completely saturated with slavery.

They're surrounded by slavery on every side.

And so when God gives them his law, he doesn't uh simply allow them to reproduce what the Egyptians have done to them.

But he doesn't outright abolish slavery either, and that kind of surprises us.

You would think that's what would happen.

But the Bible is speaking into a world that's completely fallen and just up to here with slavery.

And so for Israel, they're a nation that's surrounded by broken and fallen people, and all of them enslaved, and it's into that reality that God speaks, and he places limits on slavery, and he grants real protections and dignity to people who are in servitude.

Now, in the New Testament, or rather in the Old Testament, the Old Testament law kind of deals broadly with two different kinds of situations when it comes to slavery.

Okay?

So if you look at the Old Testament, you're like, what is it, how does it speak to this topic?

One, it says something to those who are foreign slaves who find themselves living in Israel.

It speaks to that situation.

Then it also speaks, secondly, to people who are Hebrews and they wind up going into servitude for a couple of reasons.

One would be poverty or debt, and another would be they've done something wrong and they need to make restitution, and this is the avenue that's available for them.

So the Bible speaks into that, okay?

And it speaks very specifically.

So what does the Bible, the Old Testament, say to foreign-born slaves who found themselves in Israel?

Well, slaves from other countries could be owned by the people of Israel.

So if an Israelite came across someone, they are in slavery and they had the opportunity to bring that person into their home, they could they could make that purchase.

But they were there were a lot of rules around it.

The masters were not to brutalize them, the law restricted violence and imposed consequences.

So slaves were not to be injured.

There were protections there.

And if a runaway slave came from another country into Israel, Deuteronomy 23 says that they were not to be returned to their master.

So the runaway slave was allowed to live freely.

Israel was commanded, do not oppress him.

And if you look at the laws of other nations in the ancient world, there is nothing really like this at all.

And then there was more.

According to the law, an Israelite couldn't go out and kidnap somebody and make them a slave.

That was against the law.

Exodus 21, 26 says that if you kidnap somebody and you sell them into slavery, it's a crime punishable by death.

So the ability to go out and just say, okay, I'm going to take that person and make them my slave, that was absolutely against the law.

So couldn't do that.

Slaves had to be treated with dignity and respect, no harsh treatment.

So that's foreign-born slaves.

What about a fellow Hebrew?

What if one of them had to enter servitude?

How exactly would that happen?

Well, an Israelite could become destitute and poor and may not have any other choice to avoid starvation, but to sell himself into service, okay?

And if somebody was unable to repay a debt that they had, money they had borrowed, they'd taken out a loan, they couldn't repay it, they might have had no choice but to sell themselves into slavery.

Okay, but there were rules about this.

The person had to be treated properly, and their servitude could not last more than six years, and then the seventh year they had to be set free.

So every seven years there was this sabbatical year, and that person had to be let go.

You could not just keep somebody in servitude against their will for the rest of their life.

So God did not simply give Israel permission to practice slavery any way they wanted.

He put boundaries around it, he restrained abuse, he protected the vulnerable, and he limited its application.

Now, was this complete abolition of slavery?

No, it was not.

But in a world where slavery was absolutely everywhere, God was saying to Israel, you know what it's like to be oppressed, you know what it's like to cry out for deliverance, and you're just not going to treat vulnerable people the same way that you were treated in Egypt.

That's not permitted.

They were to remember where they came from, they were to remember that God had saved them for 400 years of slavery, and they were to reject the evil that they had experienced at the hands of the Egyptians.

So that's the Old Testament.

Now you come to the New Testament, and by the time you come to the New Testament, there is a cultural phenomenon that's at work in Israel.

That cultural phenomenon is the empire of Rome.

And the Romans embraced slavery on an absolutely massive scale.

Y'all, it's hard to imagine.

But in the Roman Empire, about one person out of every ten was in slavery.

So just imagine going about your business and you're in town, you're walking the streets of Tallahassee, and one person out of ten is in slavery.

That was the situation that existed in the Roman Empire.

And you could find your way into slavery by all different kinds of means.

I mean, there was just, it was seemingly unlimited ways that you could find yourself there.

You, if you if your country lost a war against the Roman Empire, you could be enslaved.

Poverty, you could be enslaved.

Kidnapping, perfectly fine.

Piracy, birth abandonment.

You abandoned a baby because you didn't want, for example, a baby girl, and you abandoned that baby, someone call along and take that child and enslave that child.

The door to slavery was absolutely wide open and unchecked.

And the life of a Roman slave would have varied enormously.

Some endured absolutely brutal conditions.

I mean, they were made to work in mines and fields, it was awful.

They suffered beatings and exploitation and forced labor and lifelong degradation.

It was terrible.

Others were white-collar workers.

Okay?

They were accountants, they were doctors, you name it.

Some managed households, some ran businesses, and some were ultimately even granted freedom and citizenship.

But regardless of their circumstances, whether they were treated well or treated poorly, all Roman slaves had one thing in common.

They all belonged to somebody else.

Their influence was incredibly limited.

And all they could do was hope for freedom.

But every single one of them was property.

So that's the context.

And into that context comes the early church.

And they're trying to figure out how followers of Jesus can live in this enormous, broken system, right?

And you gotta remember, in the days of the early church, the Christian church had no real power.

They themselves were a persecuted minority, right?

So how is it that they're supposed to navigate this reality of slavery when they don't have the means to change it, right?

There was no there was no election, there were no polls, there was nothing they could do like that.

They they had no voice.

And so how do they live inside of that system?

So the apostles, as they write these letters that we come to in the New Testament, they speak to Christians living in this culture that's been profoundly shaped by slavery.

And they tell both slaves and masters that regardless of their circumstances, the gospel is what is to govern their lives.

So take a look at this.

Uh, for example, in Colossians chapter three, we're gonna look at Colossians chapter three and then jump down to verse chapter four real quickly.

It says in verse chapter three, verse twenty two, slaves obey your human masters in everything.

Don't work only while being watched as people pleasers, but work wholeheartedly fearing the Lord.

Then in verse one of chapter four, he says, Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a master in heaven.

So look at what how Paul approaches this, right?

He's talking to one church, in that church are slaves and masters.

He says, Listen, if you're here and you're a slave, you need to remember your master is not your ultimate authority.

Your ultimate authority is Jesus Christ.

So you need to make sure that every single day, no matter what you're about, no matter what you're doing, you're honoring Jesus.

And then he looks at the masters and he says, Listen, you don't need to live like you're an absolute authority.

You need to remember that you've got a master too.

And so as they speak into the life of the church, he says, all of us need to remember that first and foremost, we serve Jesus Christ.

That's our ultimate master, and that's how we've got to live our life.

And you can see as this is laid out that the gospel is already beginning to undermine the idea that human beings ought to be reduced to nothing more than property.

He blows that all to pieces.

So you fast forward to the founding of the nation that would become the United States.

And you'd hope that the Christians coming here in search of freedom for persecution would have looked at these biblical principles and they would have said, we're going to reject slavery completely.

But instead, what happens?

America embraces a race-based, hereditary, chattel slavery.

And it's a system that just rips millions of Africans from their home and brings them here and sells them as property and inflicts horrific suffering across generations.

And you would think that the church in that day, in the early days of our country, you would think that they would open up their Bibles, right?

And they would have looked at it and they would say, This kind of oppression, it just can't stand.

You would think they would they would hold up their Bibles and say, just look at what it says here in Exodus chapter 21, verse 16.

Exodus 21:16

It says, Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.

You're not permitted to do that.

This is wrong, this is evil, it's got to end.

You would think that they would have opened their Bibles and they looked at 1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 9 through 10, and they would say, Here it says that those who kill their fathers and mothers or murderers or slave traders, they're all lawless and rebellious.

1 Timothy 1:9–10

This absolutely cannot stand.

And some did.

Some stood up and they said that very kind of thing.

But then others didn't.

Instead, they they came to passages like 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 1 and 2.

1 Timothy 6:1

And they said, Well, see, right here, the Bible tells God tells people how to live as slaves, so that must mean that he approves of slavery.

But that makes no sense at all, does it?

Because the Bible consistently speaks into the very worst experiences that humanity has to dull out.

It speaks into those dark places and broken realities, right?

It speaks into how we ought to live in the middle of a divorce or how we ought to deal with violence or exploitation.

It deals with all these kinds of broken realities, and it doesn't approve those things.

It just tells us how we as believers ought to navigate when we're when we find ourselves in those circumstances.

And so that's what Paul is doing here.

He isn't approving of slavery.

He's teaching Christians how to honor Christ while living in this huge, huge system that they couldn't control, but they had to live within.

I told you it was the longest sermon introduction that you're ever going to hear, right?

And now we come to chapter six, verses one and two.

Let's look at verse one.

Here's what it says All who were under the yoke as slaves should regard their own masters as worthy of all respect, so that God's name and his teaching will not be blasphemed.

So Paul says, hey man, listen, you need to understand this.

Before you are a slave, okay, before you think of yourself that way, before you see that as your identity, you need to see yourself as a child of God.

You need to see yourself as a representative of Jesus Christ.

And so, so inside your slavery, inside that reality, You have to live like a follower of Jesus Christ.

And then he says, here's what that means.

Here's what that looks like.

Regard your masters as worthy of all respect.

And that word regard is absolutely key there in the text, okay?

It means to consider or to esteem or to think about somebody a certain way.

And I'm just trying to imagine how hard it would have been for someone who is in slavery to who is being told you're nothing but property, right?

And that's what you're being told.

And that slave must think, okay, you may own me and you may treat me with low regard, but when I see you, I see somebody who was made in the image of God.

And because of that, I'm going to look at you right now as somebody who is worthy of respect.

And Paul makes it clear here, they're not just supposed to just say that, right?

They're actually supposed to genuinely see that worth in somebody else.

In other words, this is about a heart change that's supposed to be happening inside of the lives of these believers.

Can we agree that would be really hard to do?

It'd be really hard to do, wouldn't it?

You may be thinking, why?

Why would Paul ask something this difficult of a group of people who've been treated the way they've been treated?

And Paul hears that, and here's what he says at the end of the verse.

He says, so that God's name and his teaching will not be blasphemed.

In other words, he's saying the way you see people affects the way that people see, see God.

Okay, and you've got to be mindful of that.

You've got to own that because the gospel is your top priority.

And so I'm looking at this verse, you all it hits me that there's an important lesson here for you and for me.

I don't know about you all, but but I think most of us are perfectly capable of treating somebody respectfully while at the same time holding that person in contempt.

All right?

Are you with me?

So you're at the office, right?

And this person that you you just really just can't stand, they walk in, right?

And you see them.

And what you're thinking on the inside is, you are such a jerk.

I cannot stand you.

How in the world did you get a job working in the same place where I'm working?

You are lousy, you are no good, you have no skill, no capacity, and I pity your wife for marrying you.

Ooh.

I mean, that's what you're thinking on the inside.

But on the outside, what do you say, hey, what's up?

How about those nobles, baby?

It's pretty good, right?

You see what I'm saying?

All right.

Can you do that?

Can you turn it on and off like that?

Right?

And so what Paul is saying here is he's listening, listen, you cannot do that, okay?

You can't, you can't just say and do all the right things and all of it be a performance.

You can't live like, oh, I despise you, and then turn it on and act like, oh, I'm really happy with you.

Paul says, No, you can't do that.

Paul says, in your heart, you've got to actually look at that person and you've got to see them as worthy of respect.

You've got to actually care for that person because that person is made in my image.

So this week, I just want to give you this as a challenge, okay?

I want you to ask, God, I want you to expose any contempt that's in my heart, okay?

Just pray.

Lord, I want you to expose any contempt that's in my heart, okay?

And and maybe your contempt, that situation I described at the office, maybe for you, that's somebody who's in authority over you, right?

And if you're honest, you just think they're a lousy leader, they're a lousy teacher, or whatever.

You think I could do a way better job than they could, right?

All that, but you hold them in contempt.

You smile, you say all the right things, but inside you just can't stand them.

So just this week, just say, Lord, I need you to expose that in my heart.

And I need you to replace that contempt that I'm holding in my heart with a genuine love for that person.

Because God is not calling us, you all, to performative Christianity.

He wants obedience from us that comes and it just reaches all the way into our heart.

Why?

Because above all, above everything, God wants his name to be honored, right?

Above everything, he wants his word to be regarded as good.

Can we all agree that if if if God is honored and his word is regarded as good, that we're all better off?

And so Paul says, listen, the way that you treat people, the way that you regard people, the way that you really feel about them in your heart, even for people that you may think they don't deserve it, you are to regard them as worthy of your respect.

Why?

Because when you do so, it reflects well on the name of God.

It honors him, and it reflects well on the word of God because that's what it calls us to do.

And we obey the word of God, good things happen.

All right?

You got it?

All right, that's verse, chapter six, verse one.

Now let's go back and let's pick up verse two.

And Paul deals with what I can't imagine would not have been just an incredibly awkward situation.

Okay, look at it in verse two.

Let those who have believing masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.

Teach and encourage these things.

So just try to imagine this scene in your mind.

It's entirely possible that sitting in the same church, in the same congregation, maybe even side by side, a slave and his master are sitting there and they're singing the same songs and they're hearing the same sermon and they're worshiping Jesus together.

And can you imagine if the slave was sitting there thinking, okay, let me get this straight.

This guy sitting next to me is my brother in Jesus.

And if he's my brother, there's no way I'm treating him as my master.

I don't know about you all, uh, but I never treated my brother like he was my master, right?

Okay?

And you can imagine them thinking that.

So I'm gonna treat him less than.

Does that make sense?

Get the way he's thinking?

Paul says, no, you can't despise him because he's your brother in Christ.

In fact, you keep on serving him, you love him because he is your brother in Christ.

So week after week, they sit there, they they hear love God, love one another, serve one another, treat one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

And you have to think about this tension because they're from two totally different social and economic classes, and now they're part of the same church.

And the culture says, hey, you belong to that person, but the gospel says, no, no, no, you both belong to Jesus.

And into that tension, Paul says, the gospel has got to dictate the way that you treat one another.

And now you can kind of see what is happening, right?

God is not endorsing slavery here at all, He's showing redeemed people how to live like redeemed people, even inside an incredibly broken social system.

And into that, God says, church, you are not like everybody else.

You cannot live like everybody else.

And y'all, this is a this is a message that the early church got, okay?

And that many in the antebellum American church missed.

In the early church, you all, as you look at what happened in history after these words of Paul were written, they understood, the early church understood that slavery did not reflect God's design for humanity.

So much so that if you look at early church history, by the end of the first century, there were Christians who would sell themselves into slavery and then take the proceeds from that sale and use it to buy somebody else out of slavery.

Can you imagine?

Because the church was beginning to wake up and they're beginning to realize this is evil, this is wrong.

And we may not have the power to affect systemic-wide change, but I can deal with that brother or that sister, and I can see them go from slavery into freedom, but it carries a price.

And the only way that I could ever afford to pay that price is to sell myself into slavery, too.

And so there were Christians in the first century that were doing that.

Can you can you imagine selling yourself into slavery so that somebody else could go free?

But that was going on in the early church, they got it, right?

They got it.

Much of the church in in the American in our American history, they missed it.

But what about us?

What about us today?

Do we get it?

Do we understand that no person ought to be the property of anybody else?

Do we understand that everybody we encounter is made in the image of God?

Do we understand that we should never settle for just allowing people to live in bondage and in slavery to somebody else?

And you might think, well, David, this is no longer a problem, thank goodness.

No country in the world currently allows for slavery on their books, so problem solved.

We're done with that.

We've moved on.

At least not in ways that we recognize.

But y'all, I just want to challenge you not to ignore this problem.

Be involved in it.

There are some fantastic ministries that focus on this very issue, one of which is called International Justice Mission.

It's a Christian organization that works around the world and they seek to rescue victims out of trafficking and slavery and help bring the perpetrators to justice, restore the survivors, and strengthen the laws around the world so that this thing comes to an end.

And I would just say if God is putting this on your heart, if this is something you feel like I just got to be a piece of this, a part of this, then you know check that organization out, okay?

We don't have an official arrangement or partnership with IJM, but I just want you all to know they do good work.

And if this is something that you're passionate about, I want you to get engaged with it.

And what if what if you're just out in the streets and you encounter somebody who's being trafficked or being exploited and you come into a situation where you understand that's what's going on, then by all means speak up.

Don't just turn a blind eye to it and let it go.

Okay?

Christians ought to be the first to defend the dignity of people who are made in the image of God.

All right?

Now, there's one more kind of slavery that I just feel like we have to address.

Jesus tells us that every single person who commits sin is a slave to sin.

And I would submit that that describes every single one of us.

Sin, it it promises freedom, doesn't it?

But the reality is it becomes the master, it controls, it separates, it, it leads to death.

But the good news of the gospel is that God does not leave us in our sin.

And just as God heard the cries of the people of Israel back in the book of Exodus, He sees us in our slavery, and he sent Jesus to set you and to set me free.

Think about it.

Jesus lived so that we could live.

He rose from the dead so that we could enjoy eternal life.

And he offers to every single one of us, I will make you free.

Put your hope in me, put your confidence in me, and I'll give you a whole new life.

And as Jesus said, if the Son sets you free, you are really free.

So today, if you've never trusted in Jesus, uh stop trying to free yourself.

Stop trying to free yourself.

You can't do it.

Turn to Jesus and ask him to forgive you and trust him with your life.

And let the one who breaks every imaginable chain set you free as well.

All right.

Let's pray together right now.

Father, we've been confronted from your word with just a massive human tragedy.

We've seen how it was one of the first evils that people envisioned and imagined.

And we've seen how it's been inflicted on humanity from the earliest days of human history.

And we've seen how even today it continues.

And Father, I just ask that we learn, just as the early church learned, how to live inside of that system for Christ when we're not able to bring change.

And then because we have the ability, the capacity as Americans who have a right to vote and all, to speak into this incredible problem.

Help us to take a sense of ownership for the dignity of others, and to be determined that with all of our capacity and ability, we're gonna work to amplify the worth and the value of every person.

Help us to be those people.

Father, in this room right now, there is someone, at least one person, at least one.

Who right now they came in here today and they were locked in their in bondage to their own sinfulness.

It might be one of a lot of problems they face, but they're enslaved and they know it.

And Father, I pray that today is the day that they cry out to you and they simply say, Father, will you rescue me from my slavery to sin?

And Lord, we know that you hear that prayer.

We we see it in the Bible, we see it in Exodus and beyond.

And we know that if someone cries that out and makes that prayer today, you hear that prayer and you offer them a whole new life of freedom and liberty that's all been purchased with the blood of your son Jesus Christ.

So, Father, I pray that today's the day that that person take a bold step and they present themselves to you and they say, Will you free me?

We love you, Father.

We pray all this in Jesus' name.

And everyone agreed and said, Amen.

Thanks for joining us on the Celebration Baptist Church podcast.

We hope today's conversation helped you take another step in your faith journey.

For more resources, upcoming events, and to join us live, visit iCelebration.org.

Until next time, keep connecting with God, connecting with others, and living on mission.