Transformed - Week 3 You Can’t Tell Me What To Do

Pastors Bryan McDevitt & Tom Bartlett

TOM

Transformed minds have a different view of

Authority Love Time

AUTHORITY

Romans 13:1-7 (NIV) 1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Titus 3:1–2 (NIV) 1Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

Appealing to the higher authorities

God Church Government

GOD

CHURCH

GOVERNMENT

PARENTS/SPOUSE

SELF

GOD

CHURCH

GOVERNMENT

PARENTS/SPOUSE

SELF

GOD

CHURCH

GOVERNMENT

PARENTS/SPOUSE

SELF

Order myself under God’s authorities

[When the government is in opposition to God’s command, appeal to the next authority up. If the next authority violates God’s command, keep appealing to God.]

BRYAN

Transformed minds have a different view of

Authority

LOVE

Romans 13:8-10 (NIV) 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” (7th Command) “You shall not murder,” (6thCommand) “You shall not steal,” (8th Command) “You shall not covet,” (10thCommand) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

· Paul is reminding us as God has done several times in scripture that the burden of debt creates slaves out of those who carry it.

· Saying love is the fulfillment of the law is like saying Jesus is the fulfillment of the law.

· The Greek word for love here is Agape. This is a perfect and unconditional love that comes from God. This mean we can’t love people this way but we can be a vessel in which the Holy Spirit enables and empowers us to love people this way.

Obligate myself to loving others

· Obligating myself to loving others means we remove the excuses. We all feel like we have justification in a moment or for many years for not loving that one person in our life. That false justification fades when we see the Love that God has shown to us in spite of who we are and what we have done. When we realize this then obligation is a delight not a burden.

Transformed minds have a different view of

Authority

Love TIME

Romans 13:11-14 (NIV)11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

· Understanding the present time is not saying we need to realize that our clock has been turned back one hour today. What he is saying is that it is time to get up and act. It is time to quit running, quit putting of your commitment to God, quit saying, “this is the last time.” If we commit our lives to serving the Lord we will not have time to sin against Him.

· This is not a suggestion but a command! Commands are given by masters and obeyed by slaves.

· He says in verse 12 to put aside and to put on. The second step is often the missed step to people living a victorious life in Christ. The keep stopping a “sin” but they don’t start serving the Savior.

· I love the analogy Paul uses of us putting on armor. Armor protest us but it also very difficult to put anything on top of armor.

· If we put off darkness and put on light then we don’t have room for darkness.

· If we only put off darkness we will just be nude.

· Also darkness can’t exist where light is.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 (NLT) 3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

Operate urgently in purity

· Don’t walk this line and argue the level of purity you live in because purity is not a line in the sand it is a direction towards God.

Next Step: I will order my life in commitment to God and His ways