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.
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,
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.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Father, this
has been a
tough text to
preach.