"The Disciplines" - Part 7- Submission

Introduction

Good Morning Church!

Well if you have been with us this summer, we have been in a series of messages we are simply calling “DISCIPLE” in which we have been exploring what it actually means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and to engage in the disciple making process. I hope these messages have helped you to better understand the vision we have of truly being a Discipleship driven church.

For the past several 7 weeks we have been talking about some of the disciplines or practices that you can engage in and hopefully make a habit of, that will position you to begin to experience, what early Christians referred to as “the Way”, which was simply living life as an apprentice of Jesus.

Last week we endeavored to look at the final two practices I wanted to address, confession and submission. Well if you were here then you know we only made it through confession and had to push our discussion of submission to this morning.

What I hope to do this morning is to explore the practice of submission and then sort of summarize all that we have talked about in this series. That is not to say we will stop talking about discipleship, quite the contrary. I am currently of the conviction that we need to keep discipleship at the forefront of everything we do and say and practice at LFB because it is in fact what all Christians are called to. I will say more about that later.

Next Sunday will be our 5th Sunday Family service and so the service will be focused on out young folks and the message will be geared toward our children and will be a bit shorter than my normal 2 hour message. Then for the next two weeks, September 29th and October 6th, Pastor Sean will be bringing the message as He shares some things that the Lord has on his heart these days.

But this morning to sort of stick a pin in our discussion of the practices or disciplines that we all can engage in, which I believer will help move us toward, and position us to be, true disciples or apprentices of our Lord Jesus.

And the last practice I want to look at for now is the practice of submission. This is another of the wildly popular Christian practices that most people dearly love to embrace. Submission.

Now the culture in which we live has turned the idea of submission into a very negative and demeaning thing to do. Our culture does not like the idea of submission. Many would say that submission puts you in a vulnerable and weak position.

But according to the Word of God, the highest level of fellowship, involving humility, complete honesty, transparency, and at times, confession and restitution - is in fact arrived at, AND sustained, by the practice of submission.

And the Bible talks about submission in two primary areas. First of course is vertical submission to God and the second is horizontal submission to one another.

In the Letter to Hebrews we read:

Heb 13:17 ESV - 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Now I have been doing this long enough to know that in just about every church there are some who have trouble with this whole idea of submitting to church leadership.

Part of the reason for that is the bad experiences some have had with church leadership. And I would venture to guess that anyone who has been involved in church life for a while, could certainly give some examples of bad church leadership.

But here is the thing about submission. It does not work or have the affect God intended if everyone is not doing their part well.

Here is what I know. Men in leadership, who are not fully committed to and Submitted to God, will have a hard time finding anyone who would willingly submit to the authority they have in the church. Church leadership authority, church elders must always recognize that the authority they have was given to them by God and that he expects them ti exercise that authority as God intends.

In first Peter it says this about men who are serving as elders in the church.

1Pe 5:1-7 ESV - 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (and here is a sobering reminder to those men). 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears,(the chief shepherd is coming back) you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Look how these men are to exercise their authority. As living examples of Christlike character. So they exercise their authority BY being Christlike NOT by domineering or flaunting their position. Now let me ask you something. If an Elder in your church resembled Christ, and it was clear to you that he had your best interest at heart, would you have any issue with submitting to that elder authority?

The younger in spiritual maturity are instructed to submit themselves to this gentle oversight by elders, and when that happens all are caught up together as a community, as mutual servants in mutual submission.

Eph 5:15-21 ESV - 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another (and notice the motivation for this submission) out of reverence for Christ.

God’s intended order in the redemptive community that is the church, is not a matter of an iron hierarchy where unwilling souls are crushed and driven. Instead, it functions in the power of truth and mercy inhabiting mature individuals. it is an expression of a kingdom that is not of this world, that Jesus preached. It is a real kingdom that is here but not yet fully here.

The Kingdom of this world fights against submission of any kind. In the Kingdom of God, Submission is mutual and cooperative and has not shadow of turning.

Otherwise the church is left to revert to the model of purely human government and unfortunately we see this happening in many misguided attempts at Christian community. The Way of Jesus knows no submission outside the context of mutual submission of all to all. We just read it in Ephesians 5:21 and in Philippians chapter 2 we read...

Phl 2:1-3 ESV - 1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

So in terms of the horizontal submission to each other that scripture clearly calls us to, it is plain to see that there is not hierarchy as much as there are roles that God has established.

This same principle applies to the marriage relationship. Again, I know we live in a society that bristles at the instruction of col 3:18 which says...

Col 3:18 ESV - 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

This instruction for wives to submit to their husbands carries the idea of submission out of respect for their husband’s position as protector, and their accountability to God

Oh foolish men all over the world love to quote that verse. Is funny that those same men rarely quote the very NEXT verse...

Col 3:19 ESV - 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

That is gentlemen, love your wife with an affectionate, sympathetic, selfless love that always seeks the best for her.

We live in a society that bristles at the instruction of Ephesians 5:22 which says...

Eph 5:22 ESV - 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

As to the Lord means that wives are to submit to their husbands as a service to the Lord.

Again, a verse that foolish men use to lord over their wives but yet those same fools never pay attention to the command found 3 verses down that says...

Eph 5:25 ESV - 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

That means men are to seek the highest good for their spouse and surround her with a caring, unselfish love.

Gentlemen, think about all that Christ did for you. Think of His life. Think of the way He loved you and how He died for you. HIS example is there to show you how to treat your bride. THAT is YOUR responsibility. That is YOUR submission to her! Again, we see a mutual submission consistently modeled in the words of scripture when it comes to our submission to each other.

We also see this mutual submission in the parent / child relationship.

Col 3:20 AMP - 20 Children, obey your parents [as God's representatives] in all things, for this [attitude of respect and obedience] is well-pleasing to the Lord [and will bring you God's promised blessings].

This is followed by...

Col 3:21 AMP - 21 Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or exasperate your children [with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by favoritism or indifference; treat them tenderly with lovingkindness], so they will not lose heart and become discouraged or unmotivated [with their spirits broken].

Again, we see the command for children to submit, but to submit to the gentle and loving example of Christ in the parent.

Folks I hope you can see the difference between the World’s idea of submission, and the perfect harmony of submission in the Kingdom of God.

Submission involves willingly yielding one's rights, preferences, and desires to another, with an attitude of humility and respect. It is not a sign of weakness but a demonstration of trust and obedience.

Submission is the spiritual discipline that frees us from the everlasting burden of always needing to get our own way. In submission we are learning to hold things lightly. We are also learning to diligently watch over the spirit in which we hold others— honoring them, preferring them, loving them.

Now I don’t need to spend much time explaining the importance of our vertical submission to the Father. The truth is, if that is not happening, everything I just talked about has no chance to manifest itself in your daily living. Submission to God MUST come first.

One of my life verses is the promise of Proverbs 3:5-6.

Pro 3:5-6 ESV - 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

I find that when I trust in and rely confidently on the LORD and resist the temptation to rely on my own insight or understanding. When I strive to know and acknowledge and recognize Him, it is amazing how so many obstacles are taken out of my way and my path becomes smoother and more clear.

When it comes to the temptations of the enemy, again, the way to victory is ...

Jas 4:7 ESV - 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Pretty simple. I submit to God, stand firm against the devil and the promise? He will flee. One thing that is clear about Satan. He prefers the low hanging fruit. (there might be a pun there) He prefers the easy pickins. I find when i do Submit to God in some area of my life, that submission often gets the attention of my enemy who will show up and try to mess with me. But if I stand firm in my submission, he will pretty quickly move on to more easy pickins.

We are told a couple of verses later in James...

Jas 4:10 ESV - 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

When my attitude towards God is one of repentance and insignificance, I find He lifts me up and gives me a greater sense of purpose. Everything about Kingdom living is counter-intuitive to the systems of this world.

David wrote...

Psa 40:8 ESV - 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

So submission MUST begin with God. So why did I talk about submission to one another first? Because I once read that people usually remember the LAST thing they heard.

If you will walk out of here today and up your game of submission to God, all the rest of submission to each other will come a whole lot easier…amen?

So those are the practices I encourage you to consider beloved.

Practices of abstinence that will help against the sins of commission, doing things we should NOT do.

Solitude

Silence

fasting

frugality

chastity

secrecy

sacrifice

Practices of engagement that will help avoid sins of omission where we do not do things we SHOULD do.

Study

Worship

Celebration

Service

Prayer

Fellowship

Confession

Submission.

Is this an exhaustive list of disciplines that we can practice? By no means. Have I said all that could be said about spiritual disciplines. Not by a long shot!

In the simplest of terms, spiritual disciplines are a matter of taking appropriate measures. If we reject these practices then we are insisting that spiritual growth is something that just happens automatically, all by itself.

It is hard to see how any serious disciple of Jesus could possibly believe that. If you simply wait for that to happen, you will have wasted your life and you will not have anything to say when you stand before Him one day and face the question that every believer will one day be asked, “What did you do with what I gave you?”

If your answer is, “I buried it in the ground until you returned so i could give it back to you”…well scriptures says you will experience great sorrow and loss.

The practices are those things that you can do so that when jesus returns you can say Look Lord, I took what you gave me and I used to to further your Kingdom. I was truly a disciple.

(go home and read Matthew 25:14-30)

Dr. William C. De Vries was the first guy to install an artificial heart in a human being. He gives an account of the number of times he practiced that procedure. And this is what he had to say about that. “The reason you practice so much is so that you will do things automatically the same way, every time.”

This is the kind of unthinking readiness that Jesus calls us to when He tells us that in our good deeds, we are not to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing. Now if you try to do that consciously you will fail because to try and hide our right hand from our left would actually call attention to what our right hand is doing! It is only when the right hand gets into the habit of doing good that it becomes something we do unconsciously and our left hand takes no notice.

This priciple of practice rules all human existence. Whether we are playing the piano or praying. We should not ignore conscious intent, but we cannot rely on that alone. Why not?

Because until we have taken steps to achieve such a level of unconscious readiness, we cannot honestly intend to carry out our good deeds, any more than we can intend to speak Japanese without engaging in the learning activities that will prepare us to speak that language.

It really is that simple beloved. You will not become a disciple of Jesus Christ by simply intending to and waiting for it to happen. That prayer you prayed confessing Jesus Christ ad your Lord and Savior, if sincere, will have given you everything you need to live a life pleasing to God. But if you do not practice with all that you have been given, it will be of no more use to you in this life than a rusty wrench laying at the bottom of a tool box.

We often talk about salvation as the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness comes to those with a new life in them: a life of loving confidence in God that is inseparable from the intention to please and be like Him. God will uphold that kind of intention and He will enable you to do as you intend. Jesus said,

Jhn 14:21 ESV - 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

Obedience is the natural outflow of the experienced faith and love. Our love for Him brings the firm intentions to avoid what is wrong and His love for us of his forgiveness.

A guy by the name of William Law puts it this way:

“Although the goodness of God and His rich mercies in Christ Jesus are a sufficient assurance to us, that He will be merciful to our unavoidable weaknesses and infirmities, that is to such failings as are the effects of ignorance and surprise; yet we have no reason to expect the same mercy towards those sins which we have lived in, through a want of intention to avoid them”

Intention is not enough, We must take action. Intending to be a disciple does not make one a disciple. It takes practice.

So I strongly encourage you to do a little self assessment, be honest about the sins that are especially troublesome for you, and then begin to practice the discipline that will most likely address that proclivity.

I will go further and issue this challenge. Pick one prsctice form each of the two lists. One from the practice of abstinence and one from the practice of engagement. Practice them every day. For how long? Well the popular myth is that i takes 21 days to form a habit. Well I happen to know it takes me longer than that sometimes and shorther than that sometimes. So I would say, practice it until it comes naturally without really thinking about it, without setting a reminder, until it becomes a habit.

You will be amazed at the difference it will make in your overall spiritual health, in the way you interact with others. But don’t stop there, once those become a habit, don’t stop there. Pick a couple more, then a couple more and keep working at it until, well until Jesus comes back!

Folks when jesus returns, He will not be looking for perfect people. He will be looking for those who are taking apprenticeship to Him seriously. Those who are engaging in whatever practices it takes to move us toward Christlikeness. Will He find that in us?

And if we all do it, it will transform this church into a bunch of disciples of Jesus Christ who are engaged in the disciple making process.

I will leave you with this. In 2 Peter we read that to be true apprentices of Jesus Christ, we need faith, but we need more than faith. There are things we need to add to our faith.

2Pe 1:5-8 ESV - 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These disciplines will move you to all of these qualities IF you practice them regularly and consistently in your daily living.

Rest assured when i come back to this pulpit in a few weeks, I will continue to talk about discipleship. It is of utmost importance to our heavenly Father, and it is the very thing that will prepare us for the kingdom living that is coming and will be for all eternity. Amen.