To find your fit, you must submit
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15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
To find your fit you must submit
To find your fit you must submit
We are starting out this morning with the dreaded S word. Submit.
There aren’t many words that can be used today to get the woke crowd buzzing and the cancel culture chirping.
Regardless of how you feel about the appointment of Amy Barrett to the supreme court from a political standpoint, it should concern us that much of the pushback to her appointment has centered around her faith.
Liberal news outlet Salon.com posted an article concerning Barrets faith in which they said (quote) "People of Praise is a religious community based in charismatic Catholicism, a movement that grew out of the influence of Pentecostalism — which emphasizes a personal relationship with Jesus and can include baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.” The article goes on to ridicule the teaching of the church that a wife is to be submitted to her husband. (See Ephesians 5:22)
While I am not going to venture down the path of political leanings, ideology such as is being expressed toward the Church, and religion in our nation should be concerning and should at least be in your prayerful consideration as you prepare to cast your vote…Now…More than political pandering…I bring this current issue to the forefront to highlight the modern mood toward submission.
However, Paul tells the church at Ephesus that we are to submit ourselves one to another.
The Greek word in the original text is Hypo-tasso-men-oy and it means to recognize an ordered structure.
the opposite of order is chaos…and our God is a God of order and not of Chaos…in the beginning God stepped into chaos and his answer to the chaotic condition, was ordered structure. Evening and morning. Stars to govern. Sun and moon to rule. He established laws that would maintain order and structure. God’s nature is order.
The fallen nature of man is chaos. When man takes God out of the equation, the result is always chaos. We might think that we want a nation where God is removed from our schools, out of our courtrooms, isolated from our government…but the result of man without God is always chaos.
Submission is when we recognize the ordered structure that is in place.
Parents will understand this analogy…perhaps moms more than dads…but have you ever cleaned a room really good…particularly a child’s room. You get all of the toys organized and put away. You get the bed made…floor vacuumed.. that child walks into the room and what is the first thing they do? if you said destroy it…you would be right!
Why? Because that is a child and that is what children do…they don’t understand the need for ordered structure....they are immature.
The propensity to step into structured order and wreak havoc is a sign of immaturity.
This is true of a 2 year old in a playroom and it can also be true of one that has not matured spiritually.
Paul writes the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 14:40
40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
How many of you want to find your place in the body?
You want to find your place in the church?
I want to help you with that…there are principles that will help you to find your place in the body.
To find your fit, you must submit.
Paul says that we must submit to one another…in other words, the body works when we all recognize that there is ordered structure, and that we are all working to find where we fit.
Romans 12:10 says the same thing, but another way
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Preferring one another!!!
the order breaks down when we start preferring ourselves. selfish ambition, forcing our fit.
Its amazing to me how we call out about every other sin in the church today, but we don’t call out rebellion.
Rebellion is simply the revolt against order.
We will put liptick on that pig.
I’m just a strong person
Its just my personality.
We wouldn’t allow someone openly practicing pedophilia to have free reign in the church, if they said…thats just my personality…I’m just a pervert who preys on children…we wouldn’t excuse that.
We have politicians declaring that a child can choose their gender at 8 years of age!!
Im going to say this…if we have the worlds strongest economy but no morality, this nation will crumble!
IF you think a politician saying a child has the right to choose their gender at 8 isn’t a sign that your authority as a parent isn’t about to be stripped away from you…you might want to guess again.
We wouldn’t allow someone actively and admittedly committing adultery to gain influence in the church.
But, The bible says that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Witchcraft will leave people enchanted…under the influence of an evil spirit and they don’t even know it.
Rebellion will cause people to be led astray.
It’s not just the way someone is…it isn’t just that they have a strong personality…they are un submitted…Usually,
1. To fit, you must submit to the head of the church
1. To fit, you must submit to the head of the church
pastor, that seems awful self-serving. well..it isn’t because Im not the head of the church
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
We need to submit to the headship of Christ in his church.
We submit to the head of the church and that being Christ, by submitting to His Word.
We recognize the order that Jesus Christ brings to our lives by obeying His Word.
We submit to God by following HIS PLAN of salvation
There are a lot of man made plans out there…shake the pastors hand…say 100 hail mary’s…recite the sinners prayer.
This is adult Sunday School class…and I know we preach the Word from the pulpit, and we teach in our discipleship classes…but I want to just reiterate what we preach here…we don’t preach the doctrines of men…
Now, I don’t berate or disqualify anyone’s experience they have had with God. If you have a faith in God! that is awesome…Great start.
IF you have prayed the sinner prayer, that is incredible.
But when Nicodemus asked Jesus what you had to do to enter into the kingdom, he didn’t tell him, repeat after me…he said you must be born again of the water and of the spirit.
Being born again of the water is baptism in Jesus Name!
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Being born again of the spirit is in the infilling of the Holy Ghost evidenced by speaking with other tongues.
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Well I dont agree with that! You don’t agree with what? The Word?
Thats the ordered structure of the word of God…Acts 2:38 repent, be baptized in Jesus Name and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!
Now…I don’t attend a baptist church, because I don’t agree with their doctrine. I don’t believe in salvation by confessing that Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior. I don’t believe in eternal security —> once saved always saved.
Im not going to go to a church that isn’t preaching the whole counsel of the Word of God...
but I wouldn’t go to a baptist church and wreak havoc either. I would simply find me a church that is preaching the Truth of the Word of God!
2. To fit you must submit to the culture of the church
2. To fit you must submit to the culture of the church
Notice that in the book of Revelation, there isn’t one letter written to the seven churches, there is a different letter written to each of the seven churches.
Each of them have their own culture…now each of them are messed up...
But if you look at Revelation 1:13, even with all of their flaws, Jesus is found in the midst of them.
Every once in a while, you’ll get a church straightner outter that comes along that thinks it is their job to correct the church and get things in order.
I think Jesus can handle it…and he has ordered structure in place to do that.
Every church has a culture. Culture is simply the custom.
For a church, there are many different ways of doing the same things.
Some churches, you march to the front to give your tithes and offering.
Some churches, coming down to the front to worship would be tremendously out of place.
Another part of that culture is the delegated authority of the church
Remember, submission is recognizing ordered structure.
We do that by recognizing the order that has been established in the church.
We trust that the pastor is appointed by God…if we don’t trust that…then we would better off at the Rotary Club...
We trust that the Pastor, working with God using the gifts of administration and leadership, is delegating authority to those within the church that have DEMONSTRATED the qualities that will best minister to the body and ensure order in the church.
We cause chaos when we try to disrupt the culture of a church. We think things should be done differently, but we don’t want to pay the price of commitment.
We want to take it upon ourself to establish our own authority in the church…Thats the 2 year old in the toy room deciding they don’t like the order, so I’m going to bring chaos!
If you want to become a part of the culture of the church…and if you want to help expand the culture of the church, then you must submit! you must recognize the ordered structure!
we wouldn’t walk into Walmart without a resume and expect to be a manager within 6 months, but we think nothing of walking into a church and elevating ourselves as a profit or a teacher.
Listen…the role of the pastor is to provide safety for the body....
If I haven’t recognized someone in a ministry role in this church, there is likely a reason.
If I haven’t recognized them in a role of ministry, you are putting yourself at risk by allowing them influence in your walk with God.
12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
Know - Have information about
22 Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
Don’t be quick to give someone influence!!
Well…what about the Apostle Paul…well, a couple of things:
Paul is the one that wrote both of those admonitions to be careful not to put someone into a place of influence too quickly.
Paul didn’t try to change the ordered structure of the church. Paul submitted the calling on his life to
Well…I just see so many things in the church that could be done differently…and I’m a strong person…so I’m not just going to sit back and let it remain the way it is...
To find your fit, you must submit…it isn’t your calling to change the culture.
If you want to change the culture, don’t do it through rebelling…by revolting against the structure that is in place.
Paul did bring a big change to the church…for the good. But he didn’t do it by being a strong person…he did it by being faithful to the calling that was placed on his life through the laying on of hands.
3. To fit, you must submit to one another
3. To fit, you must submit to one another
Prefer one another.
what does that mean....
We put the order of the church before our ambition
I dont ever want to try to make something happen that is going to cause chaos within the body
We resist selfish ambition that elevates self and we choose servant ambition that elevates others