Citizens of heaven, workers of Christ - 1 Peter Ch 2:4-12

The Church Bible.

It's good to sing the Lord's praises, isn't it?

It's good to gather in his name, and as we've been praying and reflecting on this morning,

remember the freedom that we have to do this.

That no one is going to burst through the door, no one is going to round us up,

that we can gather freely and we can praise the words of the living God

who said, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

And we're going to look this morning at some of the ways in which we use that freedom to stand out from the word,

but first we'll read our text this morning.

So 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 13 to 25.

1 Peter 2:13–25

Peter writes,

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority,

whether to the emperor as the supreme authority,

or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong

and to commend those who do right.

For it is God's will that by doing good, you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil.

Live as God's slaves.

Show proper respect to everyone.

Love the family of believers.

Fear God.

Honor the emperor.

Slaves, in reverent fear of God, submit yourselves to your masters,

not only to those who are good and considerate,

but also to those who are harsh.

For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering

because they are conscious of God.

But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?

But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it,

this is commendable before God.

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,

leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate.

When he suffered, he made no threats.

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross

so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you were like sheep going astray,

but now you have returned to the shepherd and the overseer of your souls.

Let's just pray quickly.

Father, we thank you again for this freedom.

We thank you for the reminder this morning

that it is for freedom that you sent your son to set us free.

Freedom to live lives that honour you and point others to your son.

And we ask this morning that you open our hearts and minds

as we look at some very real, practical, and in many ways, uncomfortable ways

in which we can live our lives to point others to you.

So we pray that as we continue our worship,

that all things would be done for your glory.

In Jesus' name, amen.

I wonder what it is that makes you stand out from the crowd.

This building kind of stands out from the crowd this morning.

In fact, I thought I came to the wrong church when I walked in the door

and saw the different set-up, but standing out from the crowd this morning.

And we get bombarded with this idea every day of standing out.

Advertising is masterful at this,

if any of you work in advertising or marketing.

Sometimes it's subtle.

Sometimes it's pretty on the nose.

But the message is always the same.

It's all about you.

Stand out from the crowd.

And you hear stuff like this.

Wash with this shampoo.

You'll look like Jennifer Aniston.

Shave with these razor blades.

You can play tennis like Roger Federer.

Or drink this coffee.

You'll be like George Clooney.

I still haven't figured out that one,

but somehow it makes us like George Clooney.

And the world tells us all the time,

feed your desires.

And stand out from the crowd.

Give in to that urge that you have

for people to admire you.

To think you're sophisticated,

rich,

good-looking,

good athlete,

whatever the case might be.

Stand out,

because it's all about you.

But when it comes to our faith,

we learned this last week,

the world tells us

the exact opposite.

Blend into the background.

Integrate.

Sacrifice your faith

on the altar of conformity.

But Peter tells us,

actually,

God does want us

to stand out.

Not because of our possessions.

Not because of our achievements.

By our conduct.

By the way we live our daily lives

such that people look at us

and they see

that we don't look like

the rest of this world.

There is something

different about us.

Something that points to Christ.

And we're going to look at two ways

this morning

that Peter tells us.

And I've given it away

in the title of the sermon,

but that happens sometimes.

That's okay.

In civil society,

we stand out

because we're citizens of heaven.

And in the workplace,

we stand out

because we're workers of Christ.

So let's kick off

verses 13 and 14.

Submit yourselves,

for the Lord's sake,

to every human authority,

whether to the emperor

as the supreme authority

or to governors

who were sent by him

to punish those

who do wrong

and to commend those

who do right.

Now, if there was a competition

for the least popular verses

in the Bible,

I think this would be up there.

And I remember the first time

I read this years ago.

I was a political science student.

And I since went on

to get a master's

in the same subject.

And I was indignant

when I read this verse.

I was just angry.

Because you see,

everything I've been taught

about government and politics

and everything we're exposed to

in the West

tells us

we do not submit

to our government.

Our government

submits to us.

At least that's the theory.

We choose our government.

We decide

when the government starts

and the government finishes.

And so who is Peter,

I was thinking,

to tell me?

Dan,

submit

to your government.

But ultimately,

it's not Peter.

Ultimately,

this is the Lord himself.

In fact,

Peter says

it is for his sake,

for the Lord's sake,

that we ought to submit.

Not to please the government.

Not to make

Leo and Pascal

and all the rest of them happy

that we're being nice

and submissive,

but to please God.

And I remember reading this

and thinking,

all right, Lord,

I get it.

This is some kind of

generic command, right?

In principle.

On average.

But nothing specific.

I remember reading it

and going,

you don't really expect me

to submit to Bertie Ahern,

do you?

You don't mean

the kind of governments

that we actually see

in reality,

do you, Lord?

Well,

look at the two kinds

of authorities

Peter mentions.

the emperor

as a supreme authority

and governors

who were sent by him.

And in Peter's day,

the emperor

had another name,

Caesar.

Caesar was the head honcho.

He was the boss

on top of the political system,

the one who ultimately

decided

how to direct the law

and in which direction

society went

through the law.

And the Caesar,

at this time,

you've heard his name,

was a guy called Nero.

I once had a friend

who had a Rottweiler

called Nero.

That's pretty reflective

of the Caesar's character.

Let me tell you about him.

He murdered his brother,

he murdered his wife,

he murdered his mother,

plundered the public accounts,

and used all of that money

to fund these wild parties

for himself

and then build gods

or build statues of himself

as a god.

And then later on,

when he started

the persecution of Christians,

he would take Christians

and he blamed them

for burning down Rome

and as kind of a sick joke,

he then took them,

put them in his garden,

covered them in oil

and set them on fire

to use them as torches

for his garden party

so his guests

could entertain themselves

at night time.

This was Caesar.

This was the man

who held supreme power

and Christians were starting

to ask things like this.

Do we obey this guy?

This guy who does

all these wicked,

terrible things?

Do we rebel him?

Do we go out

and get swords

and spears

and bows and arrows

and try and overthrow

the government?

Peter's answer,

submit yourselves

for the Lord's sake

to every human authority.

Submit means defer.

Recognize the authority

they have

and do it,

and this is the point

we're getting into,

because it's part

of our Christian witness.

Not because we're part

of a political game,

not because we're here

to change the world

through politics,

because it's part

of our Christian witness.

Now we don't have emperors

these days,

although sometimes

the occupants

of the White House

and Downing Street

tend to act that way

lately.

But these days

we have presidents,

prime ministers,

TDs, senators,

the European Commission.

So these are the people

who make the law

in our time,

and they're the ones

who hold this political power.

And we might ask

some of the questions

the believers

in Peter's day

were asking,

what do we do

about this government

that we have

that redefined marriage,

that introduced

legalized slaughter

of unborn children?

This government

that looks like

it's tone deaf

to poverty,

homelessness,

and any concept

of justice.

Well, if Peter

told the early church,

submit to Nero,

this guy who's going

to put you on torches

and set you on fire,

he'd tell us,

submit to Leo.

Now let's be honest,

we don't have a lot

of interaction

with Leo Varadkar

or with the Eurotus

in general,

except every five years

when they come around

and knock on our door

and kiss our babies

and very nicely

ask us to vote for them

so that they can ignore us

for another five years.

That's the end

of my political speech,

I swear.

Every few years

we vote,

that's it.

So what do we do?

Well, we do things

like Ralph just did.

We pray for our leaders.

We pray, first of all,

that they would see

the gospel.

We pray for opportunities

to share the gospel

with them.

I wonder if any of you

went door-to-door

last year

for the abortion referendum.

Would you go door-to-door

for the gospel?

That's ultimately

what we should do.

We stand up

for the unborn,

the impoverished,

and the others

without a voice,

yes,

but we stand up

for Christ

first and foremost

because no law

is ever going to change

this country.

No law is ever going

to change the problem

that the human heart has,

which is,

it is far from God.

And Peter isn't concerned

about who we vote for.

He's not concerned

about what political party

we support.

He's concerned,

once again,

with our daily conduct.

How does it make you

stand out from the crowd?

And even though

we don't interact

with the cabinet

or even our local TD

every day,

we do interact

with what Peter calls

governors,

the ones that Caesar

empowered to actually

run the programs,

administer public programs

that he put into place.

So you might ask,

okay,

who are they to us?

Well, here's a clue.

I work for one of them.

You get your passport

renewed at another one.

You get your state pension

for another one.

Every day,

you interact with the laws

established by this government

because they're administered

by what Peter calls

governors,

the ones sent

by the political leaders,

empowered by the political leaders

to punish those

who do wrong

and commend those

who do right.

In other words,

the ones who enforce

the law

set by the government,

the ones who represent

people

with power,

the ones you see

people interact with

every day

and people see you

interact with every day.

And this is the point

in our Christian witness,

at the dole office,

or the tax office,

or the guards,

or traffic wardens,

when people are looking at you,

how do you submit

to these authorities?

Do we

submit to these authorities?

Do we obey them?

Or do we consider

ignoring them

when it might benefit us?

When we think

nobody is watching,

when we think

nobody is looking

or it won't hurt anybody,

things other people do

without hesitation,

do we do things like this?

I'm only going to be

in the shop

for five minutes.

I'll just park

in the disabled space.

Or I'll park

on the double yellow line.

How about this?

You go and you apply

for job seekers.

The condition for that

is that you have to

actively be looking

for work.

But we know people

who claim that

and they have no intention

of working.

Is that us?

How about driving?

You drive on a public road

every day.

Have you ever driven

a car that's got

no NCT?

No insurance?

No motor tax?

That's the last time

I'll mention tax,

I promise.

Now these things

might seem simplistic

or trivial

and you say,

Dan, that's very

down to earth.

That's very basic.

This really isn't

what we're talking about,

right?

But if you think about it,

aren't these

pretty real ways

in which people

see us

every day

interacting with

the laws

set by

the authorities?

real ways

in which we show

whether or not

we do submit

to the authorities

as the Lord

tells us to do.

To show that we're

not like the rest

of this world.

That we don't

disobey the law

when it suits us.

When we can benefit

from something.

We do these things,

Peter says,

for the Lord's sake.

And look at verse 15.

It is God's will

that by doing good

you should silence

the ignorant talk

of foolish people.

That's pretty strong language.

Silence the ignorant talk

of foolish people.

You see,

by doing good,

by obeying the law,

by submitting

to the authorities,

we stand out

from the crowd.

We stand out

from a world

that says

it's all about you.

And you do what you can

and you get away

with what you can

as much as you can.

But by being good citizens,

by flouting the law,

or by not flouting the law,

when we could gain something

from doing that,

we're actually demonstrating

we're not from this world.

Just like Jesus said,

my kingdom,

Pilate,

is not from this world.

Is not of this world.

And in verse 16,

as we were talking about,

we live as free people,

yes,

but we don't use our freedom

as a cover-up

for evil.

We don't say,

I'm free in Christ,

I'm covered by grace,

Jesus paid for my sins,

I'll do what I like,

I'll disobey the law

when it suits me.

We are not Caesar's slaves,

that's not why we submit.

Peter says,

we are God's slaves,

we belong to God.

When we looked last week

at this idea of being

a royal priesthood,

it said that we are God's

special possession.

He owns us.

And because he owns us,

we reflect his character.

And we do that,

verse 17,

by showing respect to everybody,

and honoring the emperor.

Not because we love Nero,

not because we think

Leo

is the political messiah,

but

because we love

the family of believers,

and

we fear God

above all else.

So we live lives

that don't copy the world.

We live lives

that don't

look like the world.

We live lives

that demonstrate

our visible witness

to the world

in a way that people can see,

to show people

we really are different.

And we do these things

not because we want

to be a good citizen

of Ireland,

or the US,

or the UK,

but here's the key,

because we're citizens

of heaven.

So can we ever

disobey the government?

Because we're not

in heaven now.

We're not in that place

where there's no sin,

and we're not in that place

where everything honors God.

There are some things

that this government,

and governments like it do,

that tremendously

dishonor God,

that makes God angry.

In fact,

you may remember,

and this only just occurred to me

as I'm thinking,

you may remember

when we had the referendum

last year,

and that night

when the results

were announced,

that there was

a lightning storm.

I don't want to read

too much into that,

but I think it shows

God is not pleased

with many things

this government does.

So we do disobey

in two ways.

When the government

commands us

to do something

God prohibits,

when it commands us

to do something

God prohibits,

or when it prohibits

doing something

that God commands.

Commands us to do

something God prohibits,

or prohibits something

God commands.

And this isn't

political philosophy.

You can read about this

all through your Bible.

Here's some examples.

When Pharaoh said,

we need to wipe out

the Jews,

they're getting too populous.

They'll rise up.

There were Hebrew midwives

who refused

to do that.

Even though it was the law,

even though they could go

to prison

or lose their head,

they sheltered

those babies,

one of whom,

as we know,

was Moses.

Or how about Daniel?

Daniel is a great

case study in this.

Daniel was told,

you have to

worship

the king of Persia

as a god.

You have to bow down

to him

and pray to him only.

Stop this praying

to your god.

Stop praying to Yahweh.

And Daniel said,

I can't do that.

I respect the authority

that you're in,

and I respect

the position you're in,

but I cannot

stop praying

to my god

who has given me

spiritual life.

And of course,

Peter,

who wrote this letter,

this wasn't in isolation,

Peter and John

were told

by the authorities,

stop

preaching

about this Jesus.

You're causing trouble.

You're making

people think,

maybe I need to do

something different.

Maybe I need to do

something other

than keep the law

of Moses.

and Peter famously said,

we must obey

God,

not

men.

And the key

with this,

friends,

they weren't

disobeying

because they didn't

like the law

that the government

had,

or because they wanted

to change

the political process.

They weren't trying

to change things

to something

they preferred.

They were put

in a position

where to obey

what the government

was telling them

would be to

disobey God.

and because

our citizenship

is in heaven,

we obey God,

not men.

Killing babies,

worshipping a pagan

religion,

keeping silent

about the only

great hope

that humanity

has for its

eternal life,

these are things

we simply cannot

do,

and we cannot

bow to Caesar

when he commands

such things.

things.

And in our

day and age,

and these are

just random

examples again,

maybe you're

a teacher.

If the

principal tells

you,

you know,

people are

getting really

uncomfortable

with you

sharing your

faith in the

break room,

you have to

stop talking

about your

faith.

Do you?

Or do you

say,

I obey God,

not men?

Maybe you're

a student,

and this is

happening all

over the world.

If the

university tells

you the

Christian Union

now has to

participate in

the LGBT

Pride celebrations,

they have to

affirm that.

No.

We obey

God.

We don't

obey Caesar.

We don't

affirm that

which God

does not

affirm.

If you're

a nurse,

this is

here.

If you're

told you

have to

assist in

an abortion,

no,

I will

not be

party to

the wicked.

Those are

times where

you stand

your ground

and you

say,

like Peter,

I must

obey God,

not men,

because,

and this is

the key,

our true

citizenship

is in

heaven.

It's not

here.

Because at

the end of

the day,

friends,

heaven,

that's where

Jesus is

seated.

He has

sat down,

his work

is finished,

and he

didn't come

into the

world to

do this

work to

set us

free through

politics or

economics or

anything like

this.

He came into

the world not

to lead a

political revolution,

but to lead a

revolution of

the soul,

to take out our

hearts of

stone and

give us a

heart of

flesh to

restore us

into right

relationship with

God.

He came so

that all

sinners would

know true

freedom,

not political

freedom,

freedom,

not economic

freedom,

freedom from

sin.

And we

ought not use

that freedom

as a cover-up

to disobey

the laws of

our state and

make our lives

easier.

We reject the

ways of this

world because

we accept

Christ and

because he

accepts us.

And only when

we are forced

to choose

between obeying

the law and

obeying God

God, do we

disobey?

Do we refuse

to submit?

And in verse

21, Jesus

gave us this

example.

He gave us an

example from his

own suffering about

how to follow in

his footsteps, in

reverence,

faithfulness,

humility.

And Jesus

might have

bled from that

thorn of

crowns, just

like our

brothers and

sisters around

the world bleed

because of

corrupt,

God-hating

governments,

that oversee

them.

Even though

Jesus bled

from that

crown of

thorns, he

has been

exalted and

he now wears

the crown of

glory.

All things,

Nero,

Leo,

Trump,

Boris,

all these

things are

placed ultimately

under Jesus'

feet and he

will reign

over the

universe forever

and his

kingdom will

will never

end unlike

the ones

that we see

today.

And he

submitted for

a time,

but now he's

exalted.

He's exalted

above all

rulers and

all authorities

and we

follow his

example.

We echo

Christ's

example by

submitting and

thus we stand

out from the

crowd.

So we're

citizens of

heaven.

Secondly and

finally, only two

points again this

week, we're

workers of

Christ.

Workers of

Christ, verses

18 and 19.

Slaves in

reverent fear of

God, submit

yourselves to

your masters, not

only to those who

are good and

considerate, but

also to those who

are harsh.

For it is

commendable if

someone bears up

under the pain of

unjust suffering

because they are

conscious of God.

I was reading

this, anywhere

from one in

five to one in

three people in

the Roman Empire

were slaves.

In the early

churches it looks

like large numbers

of believers were

slaves.

In other words,

they were the

ones who were

the backbone of

the empire, the

ones who worked

the construction,

worked the

manufacturing, were

the farm

labourers.

They were the

basis of the

Roman economy.

Without slaves, in

that context, there

was no economy.

So when you read

slaves, think

labour force,

workforce.

Don't read too

much into it, that's

another sermon for

another day.

Peter is addressing

people who work

for other people,

whose livelihoods

depend on other

people working

their land, working

their business,

whatever.

And he tells

them, submit,

there's that word

again, submit to

their masters, to

the ones they

work for.

And I don't

know what your

bosses are like.

I'd like to think

that unlike the

ones Peter is

talking about, they

don't give you a

beating for doing

something wrong.

If they do, we can

go to the Workforce

Relations Commission

or whatever it's

called, but hopefully

that's not the case.

So I don't know what

they're like.

Mine are friendly

and kind.

And they're always

understanding.

I enjoy working for

them.

But some of you

probably don't have

that experience.

Some of you probably

have managers or

supervisors who

frankly just aren't

nice people.

Maybe they don't do

much of the work

themselves.

Maybe they let you

carry that burden.

It's my business,

why should I work?

That's what all you

are here for.

Maybe whenever you

ask for time off,

their reaction is

derisive.

What do you want

time off for?

What am I paying

you for?

This is why you're

here.

Maybe they only view

you as a pair of

hands or another

body or another

face on the

assembly line or

the office.

Maybe they've

personally harassed

you.

Maybe they know

you're a Christian

and because they

know you're a

Christian, they

make your life

difficult, give you

the hard jobs, give

you all the rubbish

to do.

And if you have a

temperament like mine,

and many of you

likely do, you

probably want to

march into their

office and tell

them what for.

That's the most

polite way I could

come up with to

say that.

But Peter says,

regardless of

whether your

masters, your

bosses are good

and considerate

or harsh, we

are to bear up

in our places

of work.

Bear up means

to endure,

literally to

carry this

burden that

has been placed

upon your

shoulders.

And remember,

this is so that

we stand out

from the crowd,

so that we don't

look like the

world around us.

Because Peter

says we submit

out of reverent

fear of God,

not fear of

our employer,

not because we

really want to

please them,

although we

should, but

reverent fear

of God.

And remember

what that means.

We looked at

this a couple

of weeks ago.

Revering God,

respecting God,

honouring him

for who he

lives, and

living our lives

in such a way

that gives him

glory, and

that points other

people to Christ

because we reflect

the character of

God.

Showing that we

look different from

the world in

such a way that

our lives point

people to Christ.

And he tells us

how we do that.

Look at verse 23.

When they hurled

their insults at

him, at Jesus,

he did not

retaliate.

When he

suffered, he

made no

threats.

Instead, he

entrusted himself

to him who

judges justly.

So when you

always seem to

pull the short

straw with

overtime,

or the

graveyard shift,

or working

weekends,

do you then

steal the

boss's time

and money

by working

as slowly

and as

slothfully

as you

possibly can,

doing as

little as

you can?

Or do you

continue

in faithful

diligence

to your

duties,

to the one

who pays

you?

this probably

applies to a

few of you.

What about if

you've been

refused a

higher wage?

You've been

with the

company 15

years,

less

experienced,

maybe less

competent staff

who might be

related to the

boss,

seem to be

getting their

pay rises.

Do you

grumble?

Do you spread

gossip around

the office

talk about

how this is

such a

terrible place

to work?

Or,

do you

remember what

Paul said

when he

said,

my God

will meet

all your

needs,

all your

provisions,

through Christ,

according to

his riches,

that God

gives us

what we

need?

How about

this?

When your

manager calls

you names

because of

your faith,

and this

has happened

to me,

when your

manager insults

you,

because you're

a believer,

do you

retaliate?

Yeah,

well,

I might be

a Christian,

but you

insert insult

here.

Do you

wish evil

upon him?

I know

one guy,

Christian worker,

who keyed

his boss's

car on

his last

day at

work.

Oh,

yeah.

Now,

it's funny,

but it's

not particularly

Christ-like.

It doesn't

point people

to Jesus.

So do we

wish evil

upon our

bosses when

they insult

us,

or are we

like Christ?

On our

next break,

or on the

commute home,

do we call

out tearfully

if necessary,

Father,

forgive him.

He doesn't

know what

he's doing.

Do we call

out to the

only one who

can soften

the boss's

heart,

break down

his walls,

and pray for

God's mercy

to wash

over him?

Do we

pray for

the strength

to be a

faithful witness?

In other

words,

friends,

does our

work life

reflect our

spiritual life,

or do we

put them in

two compartments?

this is my

spiritual life,

and it

belongs on

Sundays,

and this is

my work

life,

and the

two never

meet.

When we're

wronged,

do we look

the same

as everybody

else?

Do we

retaliate?

do we

take an

eye for

an eye,

or a

car key

for a

car key?

Do we

look different

from the

world around

us?

Do we

submit to

our

masters,

even when

it's the

hardest?

Because as

Peter says,

verses 19

and 20,

and I'm

paraphrasing,

if you

have to

suffer,

friends,

suffer for

doing the

right thing.

Suffer for

standing up

for Christ,

not because

you're stealing

from the

boss.

his time

or his

money.

You might

think,

by the way,

and this

just occurred

to me,

you might

be self-employed,

that's great,

I don't have

any bosses,

I don't have

any masters.

Who puts

food on your

table?

Your

customers.

So,

tomorrow morning

when that

customer walks

through your

door,

or you get

that first

email,

or that

first phone

call,

do you

treat that

person as

if the

Lord himself

walked into

your business?

Do you

submit?

And

brothers,

sisters,

I could have

showed up

this morning

and I

could have

just given

you a

lecture on

civic

involvement.

I could

have just

given you

point by

point through

the Constitution

and said

because this

is where we

live,

this is how

we act,

and that's

what Peter

means.

Or

workplace

relations.

If you're

a shop

steward,

maybe that's

what you

were hoping

to hear

this morning.

But that's

not the

point.

The point

of the

text is

that Peter

is not

interested in

telling us

how to

be a

social

justice

warrior.

Peter is

not interested

in telling

us how to

be an

advocate for

traditional

rights or

workers'

rights.

He's

interested,

as am I,

in exhorting

you to

live lives

that honor

God in

very visible

ways that

people can

see in

your daily

interactions,

in the

mundane elements

of your

life,

the things

that you

think

aren't

necessarily

spiritual,

are those

the things

in which

you honor

God the

most?

Our lives

ought to

point people

to Christ,

friends.

It's the

only reason

why we're

here.

We're here

to point

people to

Christ and

to do

that by

standing out

from the

crowd around

us,

submitting

to the

authorities

and submitting

to our

masters.

And we

do these

things not

because we're

so wonderful,

not because

we're do-gooders.

You probably

heard the

expression,

Holy Joe.

Maybe people

have said that

about you.

They've said

that about me.

We don't do

these things

because we're

great.

Verse 24,

we do these

things because

Jesus bore

our sins so

that in his

death we

might die to

sin and

live to

righteousness

because by

his wounds

we have been

healed.

So we don't

live for

sin.

We don't

live for

ourselves.

We crucify

ourselves daily,

Paul says,

and never is

sin more put

to death in

our bodies

than when we

live lives of

simple,

straightforward

obedience

and submission.

Things that

point people

to the Son

of God

who in his

perfect

submission,

in his

perfect

obedience,

gave us

that freedom.

Not political.

Our freedom

from sin.

Because we

were like

lost sheep,

Peter says,

but the

good shepherd

brought us

back.

It's all for

his sake.

It's all for

his glory.

And we don't

have time now.

If you've got

one of the

notes there,

you can have

a look.

Read Revelation

5 sometime

later today.

It's a great

image.

The Apostle

John sees the

Father holding

the scroll,

the title deed

of ownership

to the universe.

And John is

weeping because

nobody is there

who's worthy

to take

ownership of

all of these

things around

him.

But then one

of those

presents said,

no, John,

look behind

you.

There's

Jesus,

the Lamb

of God.

And Jesus

walks up to

the Father.

And the

Father hands

him this

scroll.

And everybody

starts singing,

you are worthy

to take the

scroll because

you were slain.

You have made

your people,

that's us,

the church,

to be a

kingdom and

to be priests

and serve our

God and they

will reign on

the earth.

And as we're

about to sing,

worthy is the

Lamb who was

slain to

receive power

and wealth

and wisdom

and strength

and honor

and glory

and praise

because every

wicked government

and every

corrupt boss,

everything you

own and every

single molecule

in this universe,

it's all for

Jesus.

It has all been

placed under

his feet.

Even when things

look the most

bleak,

especially when

things look the

most bleak,

Jesus will

reign over

the universe.

And we get to

reign with him.

Despite everything

that passes away

and fades away,

our inheritance

is guaranteed.

And so we live

our lives by

standing out

from the crowd

pointing to

the Lamb who

was slain,

worthy to

inherit it all.

And we're

going to come

to the Lord's

table.

Perhaps the

musicians can

make their way

back up.

We're going to

come to the

Lord's table

and as we do

so, think on

Jesus' words.

Do this

in remembrance

remembrance of

me.

Remember the

Lamb who

was slain.

Remember the

King who

wore the

thorn of

crowns,

crown of

thorns,

made worthy

to wear the

crown of

glory.

And we

submit,

remember,

because so did

Jesus.

And our lives

ought to point

people to

Jesus.

Jesus.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Father, this

has been a

tough text to

preach.