WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.780 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.760 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.920 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.520 for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.680 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.760 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:22.240 Let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, you know our hearts. You know how we're prone to want 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:28.579 your Word to say certain things, and you know that we get upset when you don't say the things 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:34.439 that we think you should say. And you also know, Father, that we sometimes feel a bit trapped with 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:38.419 that, that we don't feel we can maybe share that with other people, that it just seems like the 00:01:38.419 --> 00:01:45.179 Bible missed a moment to speak the way it should. And Father, we give you thanks and praise that you 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:49.720 know us. And you know when those things are going on in our minds and our hearts. And Father, 00:01:50.260 --> 00:01:58.860 we know that you are true, and your Word is true, and your Word is good and beautiful and deeply 00:01:58.860 --> 00:02:05.420 helpful for us in its wisdom. And so, Father, we ask that you help us to be honest with our own hearts 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:13.460 and to humbly listen to your Word, that you might lead us and guide us into all truth and into a wise 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:21.200 way of living today that brings you glory. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. 00:02:23.140 --> 00:02:29.960 So, I don't know how much of you watch things, you know, on the internet. Some of you might have 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:36.700 seen the clip, about a two-minute clip, about a Princeton student. I think it came out on Monday 00:02:36.700 --> 00:02:42.719 or something like that. She's part of a group that's occupied part of Princeton. At least she did a few, 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:48.460 you know, a week or so ago. She's occupied part of Princeton, demanding, of course, that Princeton cut 00:02:48.460 --> 00:02:55.280 all ties with Israel, and in terms of academic relationships and financial relationships. 00:02:56.120 --> 00:03:03.379 And her and a couple of other people have gone on a hunger strike, so that the Princeton will do 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:10.419 what they want. And there was a clip that was circulated, posted, by the way, by her admirers. 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:15.099 And in it, she gets very emotional and very upset, and she says, 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:21.979 this Princeton administration is starving me to death because they won't do, in a sense, 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:26.819 what I want. And as you can well imagine, it's been very widely mocked. 00:03:26.819 --> 00:03:33.280 And, um, now I, I mentioned this, uh, well, I mentioned this, we're going to be looking at 1 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:38.180 Peter chapter 2, verses 11 and following, but if you just look at what we studied last week, 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:44.219 just before this, I'd like you to hear what it is that the Bible says. It's 1 Peter chapter 2, 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:47.719 verses 9 and 10, and the Bible text says this, 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:55.539 But you, that's referring to Christians, you are a chosen race. Last week I explained that that word 00:03:55.539 --> 00:04:02.159 race means lineage, that when you give your life to Christ, you have a new lineage. You are a chosen 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:11.000 lineage, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his, that's God's own possession. And I explained 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:16.720 last week that in the original language, the idea there is a very precious possession, a treasured 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:21.180 possession, not just sort of like, you know, this water bottle that I'll throw out later on, but of 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:26.840 precious possession. Uh, so that's who we are, a people for his own precious possession, that you 00:04:26.840 --> 00:04:34.520 may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you 00:04:34.520 --> 00:04:41.040 were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:49.040 received mercy. Now it would be very fair, uh, for somebody, maybe that Princeton woman, uh, listening 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:54.580 to this text and said, George, I don't know why you're giving me a hard time. That text sort of says 00:04:54.580 --> 00:05:00.780 that you guys think that you're special, that, uh, you know, like you're God's special possession, 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:06.379 so doesn't that mean you think you should get special treatment by the government? Doesn't, don't you 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:11.219 think then that, you know, if, if you say something or want something, the government should pay 00:05:11.219 --> 00:05:16.519 attention and listen to you? Like, aren't you picking some type of privileged place with this text? 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:24.540 Now, let's be honest, uh, there are lamentably, I've given away part of my view on it, many Christians 00:05:24.540 --> 00:05:31.079 who think this way. But the question for us is, Christians who do think this way, that we have a, 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:37.659 we're sort of, in a sense, entitled to a special place in our culture. When Christians think like 00:05:37.659 --> 00:05:44.399 that, are they thinking biblically, or are they thinking against the Bible? All of this is very 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:51.459 relevant, because increasingly in our culture, we feel, well, let's, let's get into it. Let's look 00:05:51.459 --> 00:05:55.599 and see what the Bible actually says. So right after these things, what's the very next thing that the 00:05:55.599 --> 00:05:59.779 Bible text says? So once again, if you have your Bibles open, we're going to look at verse 11, 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:06.659 and, uh, um, and here's, uh, here's what happens. First Peter 2, oh, just one, one other thing about 00:06:06.659 --> 00:06:11.819 this. Just by the providence of God, I, I happen to get invited to speak on Parliament Hill on Friday, 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:17.099 and, uh, the deal is when I get to speak to some of the staffers on Parliament Hill that they get an 00:06:17.099 --> 00:06:23.059 early form of my sermon, um, my rough notes, so to speak, before I've, I've been able to finish it. 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:28.079 And, and I said to them on Friday, I said, probably every single one of you, part of your job is 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:35.439 reading documents and helping, uh, helping your MP or the senator, uh, sort of understand the document, 00:06:35.539 --> 00:06:41.019 giving them a summary or a praece of it. So I said, one way to understand these next two verses is in 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:46.860 some ways what Peter's doing is giving you a praece, or the big idea of something that's going to take up, 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:52.079 like, the next two chapters. So that, that's what these two first verses are. Sort of a geek moment, but that's, 00:06:52.079 --> 00:07:02.620 so let's listen. And it goes like this. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:09.399 the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the pagans 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:15.719 honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:22.120 the God on the day of visitation. Now there's a couple of very simple false paths we might go with 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:27.300 that text and not realize what it's referring to us. But just go back to verse 11 again. Beloved, 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:33.640 I urge you as sojourners and exiles. Now just sort of pause there. I talked about this a couple of 00:07:33.640 --> 00:07:37.020 weeks ago. I don't expect anybody to remember what I said a couple of weeks ago. I probably don't 00:07:37.020 --> 00:07:42.140 remember what I said a couple of weeks ago. Um, there's a very wonderful book called Everything 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:51.199 Sad is Untrue. And, uh, it's the story of, uh, a woman who was a doctor in Iran and she becomes a 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:57.899 Christian in Iran. And, uh, she has to end up leaving her husband behind, fleeing from the country, 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:03.439 taking her two kids with her. She's a refugee for a while in Germany. And eventually she gets accepted 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:10.699 as a refugee into Oklahoma of all places. And the story is about this, basically this young Iranian, 00:08:10.699 --> 00:08:18.240 uh, refugee in Oklahoma, uh, navigating life. And the name of the book is Everything Sad is Untrue. 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:25.539 And, um, uh, but the point of it is that before she became a Christian, she was more or less at home 00:08:25.539 --> 00:08:33.939 in her culture. But once she became a Christian, she was no longer at home in the same way. Uh, the book, 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:38.759 I haven't finished the book by the way, but in the book, like the, the, the young man has a, a, a, 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:44.139 a great appreciation for much of, much of Persian history and, and literature, but they're no longer 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:49.840 at home in the same way. Many Canadians now know that when we become a Christian in Canada, 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:55.799 all of a sudden we've become the bad guys. And that's a bit of a traumatic thing for people. 00:08:56.500 --> 00:09:01.500 So this word, sojourners and exiles, is trying to capture this sort of perennial truth, 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:07.419 that when you give your life to Christ, you have a new king, you have a new Lord over you. 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:14.080 So, uh, we live in a country where Trudeau was our prime minister and, uh, and King Charles is the 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:19.080 monarch. And there's a variety of, you know, government and, you know, parliament and senate and 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:26.440 commissions and the judiciary. But at the end of the day, we live under them, but really, 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:32.440 truly we live under our true king, which is Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And that's why 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:38.600 we're described here as sojourners and exiles. So look at verse 11 again, beloved, I urge you 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:44.500 as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:50.180 And this isn't saying that, by the way, that our body is really bad and evil and our souls are pure 00:09:50.180 --> 00:09:55.500 and good. No, it's not saying that at all. It's, it's using two sort of, uh, words as symbol words. 00:09:55.500 --> 00:10:01.220 And flesh here says that there is a part of every single human being that is in rebellion against 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:07.379 God. And soul here is referring to your identity. So what it's really saying is that remember that 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:13.200 your identity now is a sojourner and an exile. Jesus is your King. And there's going to be part 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:18.299 of you that's going to rebel against that all of the time. And passions here doesn't just mean sex. 00:10:18.299 --> 00:10:24.579 Say your passion for money, your, your passion for education, your passion, uh, for, for power, 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:29.399 your, your passion for prestige, your, your passion for possessions, like your passions for, 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:35.819 in terms of, of, of sexual knowing. These passions, there are passions in you that are very strong. 00:10:35.939 --> 00:10:40.699 They go against your identity in Christ and you need to put them to death. Okay. You need to abstain 00:10:40.699 --> 00:10:45.259 from them. That's part of what you need to do. Remember, this is the high level thing about how we're 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:53.059 going to fit into our culture. And then it, and then he goes on in verse 12 to say, keep your conduct 00:10:53.059 --> 00:11:00.559 among the pagans honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:07.039 deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation, which means when Jesus returns. Um, I was just 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:12.439 watching a four year old, a four month old, uh, interview of Glenn Scrivener with Molly Werther, 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:19.320 who's an elite journalist, uh, writes for the New Yorker, New York times, the Atlantic, uh, as a 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:25.520 professor at an elite university. And about, you know, 16 months ago, she became a Christian. And, uh, 00:11:25.520 --> 00:11:30.060 and the interview is about her whole journey to going from a secular background to giving her life 00:11:30.060 --> 00:11:35.660 to Christ. Uh, and part of it, she makes a joke about so many things about Christianity are weird, 00:11:35.660 --> 00:11:41.180 like the second coming of Christ. Like that was just weird for her as a very secular person. She had a hard 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:45.879 time getting her mind around it. And if you listen to the, it's very interesting interview. Uh, you 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:50.259 know, she tells you how she gets her mind and now she believes it, right? That's the whole thing, 00:11:50.599 --> 00:11:56.059 her journey from one thing to the other. But, but here's the thing, the command of the text is that 00:11:56.059 --> 00:12:04.339 we should be doing good. And what we do is good is not defined by the government. And, uh, it's not 00:12:04.339 --> 00:12:10.079 defined by our culture. It's good as God defines it. And sometimes when we're doing good, pursuing good, 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:16.400 people will think we're doing a bad thing. Uh, but we're to, to continue to pursue that. But at the 00:12:16.400 --> 00:12:22.820 same time, we need to live as honorable a life as possible. I'll give you a, uh, uh, uh, and, 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:27.259 and in term, and honorable in terms of the eyes of the world. Now, how does this all go together? 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.940 Well, here's the point, and it's going to get unpacked in the rest of the book. If you could put up 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:39.120 the first point, that would be very helpful. Uh, we need to acknowledge, uh, those of you who are maybe 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:46.080 watching this online in the eyes of the world, I'm a very conservative Christian. Um, uh, you know, 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.399 I don't think that's actually a very helpful category, but that's, that's what I am. And that's 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:56.080 what our church would be. And I, we just need to acknowledge that conservative Christians tend to 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:05.360 be deeply addicted, deeply addicted to legalistic recipes. So what would we really like? How do we 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:10.399 relate, how should we relate to the government? What in our heart we wish the Bible said? Yeah, 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:16.279 do this, do this, do this, do this, do this, do this. Be very, very clear. Don't do this. Don't do 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:21.060 this. Don't do this. Don't do this. You add it all up. You get an A plus. And then we can look and say, 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:25.740 oh, you're doing a really good job at those things. You suck. Like, and on and on. And we could be very, 00:13:25.860 --> 00:13:30.620 very clear. That's what we deeply want. And we're, on one level, we don't like it when we don't see 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:36.399 those things in the Bible. And if you just hear verses 11, 12, Peter didn't do that. 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:42.159 Really, what the Bible is calling us to is to think more in the lines of this, that, 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:50.539 that we are to think principles, purposes, and communal discernment, not recipes. So in other 00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:54.860 words, what we see here in this text is that the Bible has given us some fundamental principles, 00:13:54.960 --> 00:14:00.340 that we're to do good as God defines it, that we're to seek, you know, that we're, 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:08.320 to understand our identity in terms of Jesus as our King and our Lord, and that we are to try to, 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:13.259 as much as we possibly can, whenever we have a choice, we're to try to live in such a way that 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:17.720 even though people in our culture might think we're doing things which are wrong, they see things 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:23.740 within us which are honorable from their point of view. And, and, and that's not a simple thing to 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:29.360 always figure out. And what we need is that we need to spend time with the Bible and in prayer and with 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:37.940 each other in the local church, through friendships, through small groups, through women's groups or 00:14:37.940 --> 00:14:45.180 men's groups and youth groups, to help each other discern what on earth that means right now in our 00:14:45.180 --> 00:14:53.600 culture. Now this is going to get even more clear or messy. It's either going to be more incomprehensible 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:57.940 or more beautiful when it now gets to talk specifically about the government, which is what's 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:05.100 going to happen next. So let's look at verse 13 to 17. And I just need to warn you, you might not 00:15:05.100 --> 00:15:09.759 remember how I prayed, but remember one of the things that we don't always like to acknowledge 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:13.680 is that we sort of think, oh, okay, it's going to talk about how to talk about the government. 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:18.740 And, and once again, we don't want to acknowledge that deep within us, we'd like a recipe that's very 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:24.159 legalistic and very, very clear that we can just tick off the boxes with that. We don't have to 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:29.060 actually want to have to, you know, puzzle over it and think about it and, you know, maybe get Victor 00:15:29.060 --> 00:15:35.539 and Owen and, you know, and Louise and, and Deborah and Andrew together and, and, you know, and Emma and 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:40.279 try to talk it through and figure out like what on earth this means in this, like we don't want that. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:44.740 We just like simple answers and the Bible is not going to give us, but it gives us very powerful 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:50.639 things. And this next little bit sounds as if the Bible's telling us to be minions, 00:15:51.180 --> 00:15:56.879 only not as cute. And it bothers us. And if you don't know, minions are supposed to serve bad guys. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:00.919 If you don't, if you don't have kids and don't watch those things, right? Minions serve the bad 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:06.039 guys. They want to do evil, but they're really cute. So it sounds as if the Bible's telling Christians 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:12.519 to be uncute minions. Let's read it and then we'll go back and sort of unpack it. It goes like this, 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:19.340 be subject for the Lord's sake. Verse 13, be subject to the Lord's sake for every human institution, 00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:25.639 whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:31.519 evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God that by doing good, you should put 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:36.740 to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:42.399 cover up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:48.059 honor the emperor. Now you can hear there's a little bit of room in there, but it's actually, 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:53.899 it's a very, very, it's not calling us to be minions only on, on cute. Look back at verse 13. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:17:03.439 It begins like this in verse 13, be subject for the Lord's sake. Huge condition. Some of you 00:17:03.439 --> 00:17:09.039 serve on Parliament Hill. Some of you work for MPs or have or work for senators. Some of you have senior 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:14.519 levels in the government. And of course, on one level, you are to serve his majesty's government. 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:21.159 You're to do that well. But you don't do it for Trudeau's sake, ultimately. You do it for Christ's 00:17:21.159 --> 00:17:29.399 sake, ultimately. That puts everything else. I used to say, I haven't said it in a long time, 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:38.740 Christians should be the leading relativists in society. Because our society absolutizes things 00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:46.180 that the Bible relativizes. We absolutize certain types of positions of power and money and institutions, 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:52.140 and the Bible relativizes that. And it comes even clearer in the next little bit. Verse 13 again, 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:59.800 be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Now, what's going to happen right 00:17:59.800 --> 00:18:04.460 here, it's an unfortunate translation. It's like it's a good translation, but it's a bit unfortunate. 00:18:04.620 --> 00:18:11.220 The original language actually is very curious. What it actually says, it either can be translated 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:17.580 literally one of two ways in the original language. Be subject to every human creature. 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:25.240 Isn't that interesting? Every human creature. The other way it can be translated is every human 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:32.279 creature's institution. But human creature is in there in both cases. Now, that's very interesting. 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:39.000 That's, especially at the time it's written, but even today, that like de-divinizes the state. 00:18:40.139 --> 00:18:46.819 Who is Justin Trudeau? He's a human creature. Who's Pierre Polyev? Human creature. 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:53.740 Head of the Supreme Court. Human creature. Are there institutions? Yeah, they are. Human creatures 00:18:53.740 --> 00:19:00.299 have institutions. That's what we have. It's part of what makes us human. The very word creature 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:08.039 reminds us that there's a creator. And that we might put on lots of airs and think we have lots 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:11.859 of power and prestige. And we do. The Bible's not having us dismiss that. But at the end of the day, 00:19:11.859 --> 00:19:17.879 we're creatures. That's what we are. And then this next little bit, be subject for the, verse 13, 00:19:17.959 --> 00:19:21.599 be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor's 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:26.699 supreme or to governors, is sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:32.579 For this is the will of God, that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of people. 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:38.539 What you need to understand when you're reading this, and here's our problem, and here's where, 00:19:39.819 --> 00:19:45.159 here's what we need to do. The emperor at this time that Peter's referring to is Nero. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:57.119 Now, Nero was probably insane. Nero, everybody does worship his horse as a god. I'm not making that up. 00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:03.519 And so he's referring to Nero in this. So what the big mistake that we make when we read this 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:09.059 is, and I know, here's one of the things in the world, but there's Biden fanatics and Trump fanatics. 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:14.159 And Biden fanatics don't think, none of them think they're fanatics, but there's Biden fanatics, 00:20:14.219 --> 00:20:18.379 and there's Trump fanatics. There's just fanatics on both sides. And if you're a fanatic on one of 00:20:18.379 --> 00:20:25.299 those sides, if Biden or Trump says that outside it's completely sunny, there's palm trees, you can pick 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:31.139 coconuts off of the palm trees outside. We have no drug problem and full employment. And Biden and 00:20:31.139 --> 00:20:39.859 Trump fanatics go, yes, sir. Absolutely, sir. And then we go out to the rain, to the drug problem, 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:45.839 unemployment, and no palm trees or coconuts, right? So it sounds as if this is just one of these 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:55.679 propaganda pieces. But actually what Peter is doing is creating this big gap of being subject to them. 00:20:55.679 --> 00:21:03.539 But at the next breath, he isn't saying that Nero's doing this. He's saying that God has an intention 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:13.859 for government and institutions. And what is God's purpose? To punish evil doing and praise or promote 00:21:13.859 --> 00:21:22.019 the good as defined by God. That's a very, very, and it's not the only thing the Bible has to say 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:26.659 about government, but it's a very profound, on one level it's very, very simple. You can tell it to a 00:21:26.659 --> 00:21:34.519 child. And obviously it's very, there's complexities to it. You see, what's doing this right off the bat is 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:38.319 it's helping us to understand, and this is going to be important when we look at this next week, is 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:45.099 being subject to or submit to is not an on-off switch. It's a dimmer switch. 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:54.579 It's not an on-off switch, but a dimmer switch. And that we need to live in a world and navigate 00:21:54.579 --> 00:22:01.659 the fact that our culture has different understandings, not always. Our culture would 00:22:01.659 --> 00:22:06.659 share a Christian understanding that racism is a very bad thing. Most of our culture, not all of it, 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:13.519 would say that pornography is not a good thing, which is a Christian view as well. And there'd be 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:18.320 other areas like that that are, you know, that we would have in common, but they have some things 00:22:18.320 --> 00:22:22.360 which they think that are good, Christians say are bad, and vice versa. And we need to understand the 00:22:22.360 --> 00:22:27.900 pursuit of the Christian thing. And the government and institutions might be promoting this, 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:34.960 and we can't go there. And we're under Christ. And how do you live? How do you live? 00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:41.000 Well, what the Bible is doing is it's giving principles, it's giving purposes and aims. 00:22:41.660 --> 00:22:45.519 The letter is written not to individual Christians, but to churches. 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:52.440 And the implication is that we need to have times of worship like this. We need to have small groups. 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:58.099 We need to have friendships. We need to be able to say, maybe I should have a bit of a chat with Don 00:22:58.099 --> 00:23:07.779 and Victor and Owen and Andrea and try to figure out how do we live with this thing, like the way things 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:17.779 are going. Like how do we keep these things and work them out? It creates a space of discernment. 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:22.799 And, you know, and then it goes on, and you see it again, is that what we should be knowing for is 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:29.160 doing good. And verse 15, for this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:32.599 the ignorance of foolish people. I meant to write this down, and I can't pronounce her name. 00:23:33.399 --> 00:23:37.220 There's this very, she's not a Christian, but she's a really interesting person. 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:43.980 I think she's originally from India or Sikh background, and she's England. And she's completely 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:49.240 and utterly gone against the entire English educational thing. And she's gone and set up 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:55.519 a school in a very poor area. And what she's done by doing, and she's brought in discipline, 00:23:55.720 --> 00:24:00.559 she's brought in, in a sense, different older ways of teaching. And these poor kids coming 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:06.299 from a variety of racial groups are thriving academically. She's doing good. And by doing good, 00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:10.759 she's silencing people who think they know better, but in fact are doing foolish. That's 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:15.879 in a sense what the Bible's telling us to do. And then it says this very profound thing, 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:20.839 live as people, verse 16, who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:28.000 but living as servants of God. And here, and if you're familiar with some literature and all 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:34.259 going on in the culture, there's two fundamentally different views of freedom. And most Canadians 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:44.339 understand freedom as freedom from limits, freedom from restraints, freedom from duties, freedom from 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:52.879 obligations, freedom from consequences. And Christians here are understanding freedom as freedom to, 00:24:53.839 --> 00:25:01.319 that it's freedom to love, it's freedom to serve, it's freedom to not be bound by our passions, 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:06.779 it's freedom to have duties, that that is the understanding of freedom. It's a completely 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:11.539 different way of understanding freedom, and that's what it's telling us that we should do. And then 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:17.460 it goes on in verse 17, the final one, I have to watch my time, and then it goes on sort of closing 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:22.259 this whole section, verse 17, honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:28.079 Now, just, I have a four little points to sort of see how you can triangulate that, 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:33.339 what it's trying to say, if you could put up the first one, 2A, so to speak, is what the Bible's 00:25:33.339 --> 00:25:37.579 talking about here now in terms of relating to government and culture. And it's just as true 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:44.119 if you're in Canada as it is if you're in China, it is just as true if you're in Nigeria or the United 00:25:44.119 --> 00:25:51.939 States. It's very, very wise. Remember, it's giving us principles and purposes, it's giving us 00:25:51.940 --> 00:25:59.220 direction, and it's really calling for the fact that, dang it all, we need to spend some time with 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:04.460 Steve and Stella or Andrew and Deborah, and we need to pray together. We need to try to figure out what 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:13.600 this means, how you do this. Sometimes, when the culture goes crazy, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer tried 00:26:13.600 --> 00:26:18.420 to figure out how he could do that during Nazi Germany, and he did it by actually trying to undermine 00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:27.380 Hitler out of his desire to honor Germany and honor, I mean, that was a very evil time. But here, 00:26:27.380 --> 00:26:35.180 so the first thing is that Christians are called to have a posture, a posture to submit to and honor 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:45.420 human creatures in authority. Justin Trudeau's father once got caught saying the F word in public, 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:50.259 and he said he didn't say, I think he said he said Fuddle Duddle or something like that. And so, 00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:57.279 when you see posters that say Fuddle Duddle Trudeau, that's not something a Christian should hold, 00:26:57.380 --> 00:27:00.820 that sign. It doesn't honor him. 00:27:03.940 --> 00:27:08.600 You don't have to spend time in prayer discerning that, that you just, that shouldn't be a sign that 00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:14.799 we hold. Have a posture to submit to and honor human creatures in authority, remembering that 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:21.879 submission and honor are dimmer switches, not off and on switches. And they're defined by God, 00:27:22.459 --> 00:27:29.219 not by our culture. Secondly, 2B, if you could put it up, know that civil authority has a God-ordained 00:27:29.220 --> 00:27:37.299 purpose to punish true evil and praise true good, defined once again by God. 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:43.180 You know, by the way, this doesn't mean it's always going to be simple. 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:52.019 Trying to do things about online speech and how you balance the true good of free speech 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:59.500 and freedom of conscience and how you balance that with some of the, from what I've been told, 00:27:59.700 --> 00:28:04.519 horrendous things you can see in the internet in terms of child pornography and other types of 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:09.559 pornography and how you balance that. Once again, there's not a recipe for that. We can disagree on 00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:16.920 that, but we need to have a prayerful discernment working towards that. Third, 2C, do what is truly 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:20.940 morally good. That's what we should always be pursuing. 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:29.220 And finally, 2D, grow into true freedom, which is the freedom to love and to serve. 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:34.519 Grow into true freedom, which is the freedom to love and to serve. 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:42.859 You know, this is, we can all say, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we, we understand that. 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:49.139 But if you put those last two things together, here's the difference between our culture. Our, our culture 00:28:49.140 --> 00:28:55.020 says to you, uh, listen, you're making enough money. Um, you, you deserve a Lexus. 00:28:56.520 --> 00:29:02.600 You deserve a Lexus. And, uh, you know, you should put your money into that. You should buy that Lexus. 00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:18.599 And, and in fact, actually, it might even be more than that because you, you go to, to think about buying the Lexus because you have the money. And then you realize that, you know, those Porsches are really good or those Audis are really good. And that, you know, actually, you could afford the interest payments to up your car to get something like that. You know? 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:30.480 Uh, and, and, and the freedom of Canada is that that's a perfect sense of our freedom is that I'm making the money. It's my money. I want to be free. And free means what's good for me. It means exalting me. 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:42.099 It means being able to do what I want and have the prestige that I want and have the envy of others towards me that I want. And I can serve my own desires and I can serve me and I can serve me and I can serve me. 00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:55.720 But the gospel is saying, maybe you should buy a Toyota Corolla and be generous to the work of the church and to the relief of poverty and the spread of the gospel. 00:29:55.720 --> 00:30:02.700 You see, if you think about it for a second, who's more free? 00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:12.339 Ones who merely indulge their passions or ones who say, you know what? 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:19.460 That Corolla or that Prius, that's, that's, that's fine. And I, I can really be financially generous. 00:30:20.660 --> 00:30:25.640 Now, having said all that, we'll go on to the next thing about slavery because I don't want people to think I'm trying to just 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:29.259 talk this through and say, oh, dang it all. I didn't have enough time to talk about the slavery text. 00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:35.720 You know, just read and figure out for yourself. I really think Charles, I think it was John or Charles 00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:42.860 Wesley had a lot of very good advice. He said people, Christians should strive to be able to save 10% of their income, 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:50.360 give 10% of their income away and enjoy the 80% without feeling guilty. Like enjoy it. 00:30:50.359 --> 00:30:55.619 And if God calls you to be more generous, to be more generous. But now slavery. 00:30:58.419 --> 00:31:05.740 Whoa. On one level, slavery isn't a thing that most of us think about. I mean, just by the way, 00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:10.879 if you're watching this and you're a slave, contact the church. We'll do it here in North America. 00:31:11.019 --> 00:31:14.719 It's illegal here. We'll do what we can to help you get out of slavery. We'll call the police. 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:19.680 If you're watching this and you own slaves, you need to repent immediately and set them all free. 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:25.039 But generally, it's not an issue that Canadians are struggling with in terms of slavery. But it is 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:31.700 an issue that is often used as a defeater as to why people can't be Christians. It's a very common 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:36.920 thing to say, well, you know, Christians support oppressing women and they, you know, were in favor of 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:42.200 slavery. And I can't even consider Christianity because of these types of things. Go on the internet, 00:31:42.200 --> 00:31:46.519 you'll see lots of stuff around that. And to be honest, if you look at verse 19, 00:31:47.100 --> 00:31:54.240 verse 18, we are, our, our spirits sag a little bit. And we actually say, maybe this isn't a Sunday 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:59.660 I'd want to have my neighbor hear the Bible text, because I'm not sure what I'd say about that when 00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:07.259 it says, verse 18, slaves, because that's really what it's referring to. Slaves, be subject to your 00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:11.319 masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:20.180 And we go, oh my, I sure wish, I mean, that was a teachable moment that God missed. 00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:29.480 He really needed me to help him edit that part of 1 Peter. That's just not what I was hoping or 00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:36.960 expecting he would say. So how do we deal with it? Here's a couple of things. The first is that often 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:43.240 when our friends and neighbors say things about the Bible and about slavery, they have the mistaken 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:48.779 view that they live in Switzerland rather than where they live. And what I mean in that is Switzerland's 00:32:48.779 --> 00:32:53.480 a country that's been neutral forever. And people think they can talk about this issue from a position 00:32:53.480 --> 00:33:02.500 of neutrality. But nobody's neutral. Everybody's coming out of some type of thought process or system. 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:07.839 Most people, it's completely unconscious. But it's coming out of somewhere. Might be a bit more Hindu 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:13.259 influenced, Buddhist influenced, Muslim influenced. And at the end of the day, even though people aren't 00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:18.299 atheist type of influence, those are the four big ones, some combination of all of those things. 00:33:18.980 --> 00:33:23.519 And so we look at it from our point of view, not realizing we have a point of view and a tradition, 00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:26.599 and we say, oh, look at that Bible. It's just so completely and utterly terrible. 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:28.859 Well, one moment. 00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:33.379 Buddha owned slaves. 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:36.200 Do you know that? 00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:38.960 Gautama Buddha owned slaves. 00:33:42.019 --> 00:33:45.160 Now, we're going to talk about this next week when we talk about Buddhist 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:46.299 understandings of marriage. 00:33:46.299 --> 00:33:52.419 It is true. Did you know that Buddha, to pursue enlightenment, abandoned his wife and children? 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:58.139 Well, they don't teach you that, by the way, in the posters. 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:01.960 He abandoned his wife and children. He abandoned his slaves. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:03.220 Never spoke against slavery. 00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:05.879 What about Hinduism? 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:13.380 Well, India did stop the selling and all of slavery in 1833, 00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:16.160 but they didn't stop it because of Hinduism. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:22.019 The British colonial masters stopped slavery in India in 1833. 00:34:26.440 --> 00:34:27.740 What about Islam? 00:34:29.180 --> 00:34:34.000 Did you know that Muhammad bought and sold and owned slaves? 00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:37.160 The truth. 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:38.820 He was a slave owner. 00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:40.480 He sold them, bought them. 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:42.820 Had them. 00:34:43.380 --> 00:34:49.420 What about people who don't believe there is a God? 00:34:50.160 --> 00:34:51.700 Who are agnostic about it? 00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:57.119 Well, I mean, one of the things about this particular text, 00:34:57.220 --> 00:35:00.099 if you want to go hunting in the internet, I'll see if I can find it. 00:35:00.160 --> 00:35:04.000 There's a very interesting YouTube video by Peter Williams, 00:35:04.119 --> 00:35:05.559 who's an academic at Cambridge, 00:35:05.559 --> 00:35:10.320 who talks about what the slavery laws were at the time that Peter was written. 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:12.860 And when Peter wrote his letter, 00:35:13.700 --> 00:35:18.539 there was, in fact, the idea of slavery just seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. 00:35:18.760 --> 00:35:21.220 Everybody believed that slavery was just natural. 00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:25.140 And they couldn't conceive of a society without slavery. 00:35:27.640 --> 00:35:30.860 But, you know, what about our atheist friends? 00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:36.240 By, well, at least the 19th century, it'd become common knowledge in the educated world, 00:35:36.340 --> 00:35:39.220 influenced by Christianity, that slavery was wrong. 00:35:39.219 --> 00:35:43.779 So, within a couple of years of the first atheist state, 00:35:43.779 --> 00:35:48.279 in the 1920s, they reintroduced slavery. 00:35:50.279 --> 00:35:51.239 Soviet Union. 00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:53.839 China continues to have slavery. 00:35:54.219 --> 00:35:55.159 Another atheist state. 00:35:55.159 --> 00:36:00.480 Now, I'm not, we're going to look at the text again, 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:03.759 but we don't have to take guff from people. 00:36:05.139 --> 00:36:09.059 Why is it that people in Canada, good secular people in Canada, 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:10.460 think that slavery is wrong? 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:12.639 They learned it from Christianity. 00:36:13.819 --> 00:36:16.899 They didn't learn it from atheist systems of thought, 00:36:17.359 --> 00:36:20.639 Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim systems of thought. 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:22.059 They learned it from Christianity. 00:36:22.059 --> 00:36:22.139 Christianity. 00:36:23.340 --> 00:36:25.539 Now, let's look at this text again. 00:36:26.820 --> 00:36:32.119 Now, the first thing I need to say about this text is the way that it's spoken. 00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:33.619 And I'll give you an illustration. 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:38.400 Let's say all of a sudden, I started talking about women. 00:36:39.699 --> 00:36:42.719 And I say, you know, women are like this, and women do this, and women do that. 00:36:42.820 --> 00:36:45.440 And then at some point in time, Andrea puts her hand up and says, 00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:49.039 you do realize that, like, there's at least one woman here? 00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:53.420 You know, you can't talk about women as if we're objects. 00:36:53.659 --> 00:36:57.059 Like, you know, the way we talk about chairs, that chairs are just objects. 00:36:57.279 --> 00:37:00.519 And I can talk about chairs, and they don't care, they're just an object. 00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:02.759 But if I talk about women as if they're just objects, 00:37:02.860 --> 00:37:05.579 it's profoundly dehumanizing to them. 00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:07.300 Right? 00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:14.280 In the underlying original language, what Peter's going to talk about in verses 18 and following 00:37:14.280 --> 00:37:17.120 is he's not talking about slaves like that. 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:21.680 He's talking to a congregation where there are slaves in the room. 00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:25.160 And in a sense, he's now saying, I'll just sort of look at you guys because you're close, 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:26.640 slaves. 00:37:28.240 --> 00:37:29.940 He's talking to the slaves. 00:37:31.200 --> 00:37:32.080 Like people. 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:34.319 With dignity and autonomy. 00:37:35.759 --> 00:37:37.719 And just listen to verse 18 and 19. 00:37:38.139 --> 00:37:40.500 Just listen to verse 18 and 19, or look on the screen, 00:37:40.599 --> 00:37:44.599 and ask when you hear this text, is it promoting slavery? 00:37:48.360 --> 00:37:51.579 Slaves, be subject to your masters with all respect, 00:37:52.319 --> 00:37:55.039 not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. 00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:59.699 For this is a gracious thing, when mindful of God, 00:38:00.099 --> 00:38:05.259 one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 00:38:08.539 --> 00:38:10.360 He's talking to slaves. 00:38:11.219 --> 00:38:15.219 You're enduring sorrows while suffering unjustly. 00:38:19.400 --> 00:38:22.500 This is the opposite of a pro-slavery text. 00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:27.380 It undermines the institution. 00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:28.739 And it's even deeper. 00:38:29.980 --> 00:38:33.300 And remember all those earlier things about God wanting you to grow into freedom? 00:38:34.340 --> 00:38:37.340 And listen to how he now grounds these things. 00:38:37.460 --> 00:38:42.279 He says he's taking a pause from all of these things to ground what he's saying. 00:38:42.420 --> 00:38:43.639 Listen to how it continues. 00:38:43.820 --> 00:38:47.500 For what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? 00:38:47.500 --> 00:38:52.699 But if when you do good, this is verse 20, and you suffer for it, 00:38:52.900 --> 00:38:57.860 sorry, if you do good and suffer for it, you endure. 00:38:58.179 --> 00:38:59.380 I'm sorry, Neb, well, sorry. 00:38:59.480 --> 00:39:01.300 This is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 00:39:01.420 --> 00:39:03.960 It's a whole other thing which he's going to be looking at later 00:39:03.960 --> 00:39:08.659 about the fact that, you know, there is a way that all of us 00:39:08.659 --> 00:39:11.300 are going to have times in our lives when we suffer unjustly. 00:39:11.300 --> 00:39:15.600 And for secular Canadians, there's no category for that. 00:39:15.780 --> 00:39:19.320 It's completely meaningless and absurd and just tragic. 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:22.220 But the Bible is saying, we're going to see why in a moment, 00:39:22.380 --> 00:39:26.980 that for those in Christ, there is a possibility that there's something, 00:39:27.120 --> 00:39:30.640 can be something, even though it's always sorrowful and it's always hard 00:39:30.640 --> 00:39:34.460 and it's always wrong, but there is something about it that can be redeemable, 00:39:34.600 --> 00:39:38.700 that you can maintain your dignity and hold your head high in the midst of it. 00:39:38.760 --> 00:39:39.680 It gives you hope. 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:41.159 Verse 21, 00:39:41.759 --> 00:39:45.919 For this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, 00:39:46.759 --> 00:39:50.500 leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. 00:39:53.500 --> 00:39:59.519 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:04.899 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. 00:40:04.900 --> 00:40:13.480 When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:22.579 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, 00:40:22.980 --> 00:40:27.740 that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 00:40:27.739 --> 00:40:33.219 By his wounds you have been healed. 00:40:33.219 --> 00:40:39.379 For as you were strained like sheep, for you were strained like sheep, 00:40:39.879 --> 00:40:45.119 but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. 00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:57.759 I mean, one of the other things which so profoundly undermines the whole institution of slavery as economics develop 00:40:57.760 --> 00:41:04.520 and as these ideas percolate into a mind that always wants to return to slavery. 00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:07.940 ISIS has returned slavery. 00:41:08.580 --> 00:41:11.740 The Taliban have returned slavery. 00:41:11.739 --> 00:41:19.459 Mauritania only stopped having slavery as a result of international pressure in 2011. 00:41:20.699 --> 00:41:23.179 There is still slavery in China. 00:41:23.799 --> 00:41:27.039 There is something perennial about returning to slavery, 00:41:27.639 --> 00:41:30.179 and that is because at heart, 00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:34.079 there is that part within every human being that wants a freedom from, 00:41:34.279 --> 00:41:36.019 it wants a freedom to lord over, 00:41:36.179 --> 00:41:37.599 a freedom to have control, 00:41:37.839 --> 00:41:39.059 a freedom to be exalted, 00:41:39.599 --> 00:41:41.259 a freedom to have no consequences, 00:41:41.260 --> 00:41:43.020 a freedom to have no responsibilities, 00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:45.600 a freedom to do whatever you dang well please, 00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:47.820 whenever you dang well please to do it. 00:41:48.160 --> 00:41:51.360 And when these senses of freedom control us and empower us, 00:41:51.740 --> 00:41:57.600 slavery fits as neatly as the most perfect glove designed to fit your hand. 00:41:58.600 --> 00:42:04.000 And the Bible says we worship one who died a slave's death. 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:11.840 And our life and the story of our life is modeled on one who is completely and utterly different, 00:42:11.840 --> 00:42:21.739 who died a slave's death that we might be freed and redeemed and made it one with the almighty God. 00:42:21.739 --> 00:42:26.359 And he is to be the example for how we live. 00:42:26.359 --> 00:42:30.299 Brothers and sisters, as I've shared with you many times, 00:42:30.479 --> 00:42:34.479 Peter, within a year or two of this, he's going to die a martyr's death 00:42:34.479 --> 00:42:41.719 because he refused to recant of the truth that Jesus actually did die on the cross, 00:42:42.099 --> 00:42:43.959 he actually did rise from the dead. 00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:47.480 And why did Peter not want to give that up? 00:42:47.579 --> 00:42:49.199 Why didn't he just say, oh, whatever? 00:42:50.179 --> 00:42:53.860 Like a couple of years ago, I was talking to a barista in a Starbucks, 00:42:53.980 --> 00:42:57.139 and I mentioned something about, you know, paper coming from trees, 00:42:57.380 --> 00:42:59.380 and you keep, you know, planting new trees. 00:42:59.480 --> 00:43:02.220 And the person just said to me, they don't plant trees in Canada. 00:43:02.980 --> 00:43:06.260 I said, my son was hired as a tree planter for seven years. 00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:07.260 He said, no, no, no. 00:43:07.599 --> 00:43:09.039 They don't plant trees in Canada. 00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:09.159 Yeah. 00:43:10.159 --> 00:43:11.239 I just said, well, whatever. 00:43:11.599 --> 00:43:13.320 Like, what do you say to somebody who's so dumb? 00:43:14.219 --> 00:43:16.199 Like, whatever, you know? 00:43:16.420 --> 00:43:17.579 I didn't say whatever out loud. 00:43:17.679 --> 00:43:18.800 And weirdly, I went, okay, yeah, whatever. 00:43:20.800 --> 00:43:23.300 So why didn't Peter just say, you know, whatever? 00:43:24.380 --> 00:43:25.579 Why did he not say whatever? 00:43:25.739 --> 00:43:27.659 Why did he want to say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:43:27.679 --> 00:43:28.860 Jesus actually did die. 00:43:28.920 --> 00:43:30.079 He actually did rise on the dead. 00:43:30.159 --> 00:43:31.460 Why did he not want to say whatever? 00:43:31.880 --> 00:43:34.880 He didn't want to say whatever because he said, 00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:38.480 that he understood that he committed no sin. 00:43:39.039 --> 00:43:40.980 Neither was deceit found in his mouth. 00:43:41.079 --> 00:43:43.480 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. 00:43:43.579 --> 00:43:44.960 When he suffered, he did not threaten, 00:43:45.059 --> 00:43:47.880 but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 00:43:48.260 --> 00:43:52.260 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree 00:43:52.260 --> 00:43:54.980 that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 00:43:55.220 --> 00:43:57.200 By his wounds you have been healed, 00:43:57.200 --> 00:44:00.000 for you were strained like lost sheep, 00:44:00.099 --> 00:44:03.280 but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. 00:44:03.280 --> 00:44:04.880 It's because of the truth of that, 00:44:05.019 --> 00:44:07.140 he would not give up on the truth 00:44:07.140 --> 00:44:10.140 that Jesus rose from the dead 00:44:10.140 --> 00:44:13.160 after dying a slave's death on the cross. 00:44:13.460 --> 00:44:15.820 And he is both a savior for us 00:44:15.820 --> 00:44:18.640 and an example of how we are to live 00:44:18.640 --> 00:44:20.600 and how we are to understand power 00:44:20.600 --> 00:44:24.240 and sexuality and family and friendships 00:44:24.240 --> 00:44:27.340 and civic authority and economics. 00:44:28.240 --> 00:44:30.980 That is a story to form our lives. 00:44:30.980 --> 00:44:33.340 And it's a story 00:44:33.340 --> 00:44:36.059 that if you haven't given your life to Christ, 00:44:36.119 --> 00:44:37.539 you need to give your life to Christ. 00:44:38.340 --> 00:44:39.659 That's such a wonderful truth. 00:44:39.740 --> 00:44:40.300 So beautiful. 00:44:40.840 --> 00:44:41.460 Let's stand. 00:44:50.840 --> 00:44:51.719 Bow our heads in prayer. 00:44:51.840 --> 00:44:52.119 Father, 00:44:53.119 --> 00:44:56.579 you know in our hearts, 00:44:56.679 --> 00:44:58.000 we wish you'd said a different thing, 00:44:58.000 --> 00:44:59.760 but we now look at it more closely. 00:44:59.860 --> 00:45:01.679 You said very wise things, Father. 00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:03.719 And Father, 00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:07.000 and some of us are maybe really just fascinated 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:08.400 to understand how it is 00:45:08.400 --> 00:45:09.880 that actually there might be a way 00:45:09.880 --> 00:45:11.760 that even when we suffer deeply 00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:13.039 and suffer unjustly, 00:45:13.119 --> 00:45:14.300 that there is something about it 00:45:14.300 --> 00:45:15.139 that can have meaning 00:45:15.139 --> 00:45:18.840 and that it can be a means of grace. 00:45:19.699 --> 00:45:20.139 And Father, 00:45:20.500 --> 00:45:23.380 we wish you made it really easy 00:45:23.380 --> 00:45:24.519 for us to know how to relate 00:45:24.519 --> 00:45:25.820 to the government of Canada 00:45:25.820 --> 00:45:26.559 and our country. 00:45:26.759 --> 00:45:27.400 But Father, 00:45:27.500 --> 00:45:29.300 we know that you knew better 00:45:29.300 --> 00:45:30.920 than what we want. 00:45:31.059 --> 00:45:32.659 And you have called us 00:45:32.659 --> 00:45:34.019 to meditate on your word 00:45:34.019 --> 00:45:35.199 and to study your word 00:45:35.199 --> 00:45:36.159 and to pray to you 00:45:36.159 --> 00:45:37.880 and to have earnest conversation 00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:38.900 in local churches, 00:45:39.059 --> 00:45:40.280 whether in small groups 00:45:40.280 --> 00:45:42.119 or with friendships 00:45:42.119 --> 00:45:43.420 and with mentors 00:45:43.420 --> 00:45:45.920 to sort out how to live well 00:45:45.920 --> 00:45:47.239 for your glory 00:45:47.239 --> 00:45:48.639 and for the true good 00:45:48.639 --> 00:45:49.900 of this city and this country 00:45:49.900 --> 00:45:50.980 while we're here in Canada. 00:45:50.980 --> 00:45:52.380 And so, Father, 00:45:52.460 --> 00:45:53.480 we ask that you help us 00:45:53.480 --> 00:45:55.119 to trust your Son 00:45:55.119 --> 00:45:56.699 and to embark on this path 00:45:56.699 --> 00:45:57.880 and make us a congregation 00:45:57.880 --> 00:46:00.159 that is a congregation of truth, 00:46:00.280 --> 00:46:01.420 a congregation of life, 00:46:01.539 --> 00:46:02.800 a congregation of beauty, 00:46:03.420 --> 00:46:04.639 a congregation, Father, 00:46:04.740 --> 00:46:05.440 of justice, 00:46:06.139 --> 00:46:07.840 that loves this city 00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:08.880 and loves this country 00:46:08.880 --> 00:46:10.119 and has a love 00:46:10.119 --> 00:46:10.920 for the whole world. 00:46:11.079 --> 00:46:12.000 Father, do that work 00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:13.099 of ongoing renewal 00:46:13.099 --> 00:46:14.240 and reformation in us. 00:46:14.619 --> 00:46:15.619 And we ask these things 00:46:15.619 --> 00:46:17.280 in Jesus' precious name. 00:46:18.039 --> 00:46:18.420 Amen.