Welcome to Watermark. My name is Chris, if you don't know me.
And it's, I think going through this series in 1 Peter, I don't know how it's impacting you,
but actually I'm really very challenged by this. And actually, even with this passage today,
I've been going, God, just, I need you to work in my heart through this.
Because this is a, there's some tough things that God is saying, but things which I think are really,
we need to hear in our society. Because we live in a world which, if you ever watch the news,
is very polarized, right? We have all kinds of issues. There's mass immigration throughout the
world, whether it's in rural China into the cities or the mainland into Hong Kong or
war-torn countries into safer countries or people seeking economic opportunities in different places.
People are looking for a home. People are looking for an identity. And across the world, there's also
this kind of backlash against a lot of this. People are being protectionistic. There's nationalism
growing in different areas of the world. And everyone seems to be becoming either pro or
anti-everything. Pro-government, anti-government. Pro-immigration, anti-immigration. Pro-poor or
anti-poor. Pro-rich or anti-rich. And in 1 Peter, Paul is talking to a group of small groups of
Christians across Turkey. And he's writing to them and he calls them exiles and sojourners.
He says, basically, you're like migrants in a foreign land. And he says, your primary allegiance
isn't to be to any political authority. It isn't a national identity. Your primary identity is that
your citizenship, like Paul talks about, is in heaven. We have a different president. You know,
right at the heart of the gospel message is the statement, Jesus is Lord. That means he's higher
in allegiance to every other allegiance. And that puts us in this world in a kind of no man's land
in many ways. But in God's eyes, through faith in Christ, and this is what Bon Peter's been showing,
we are God's chosen people. We have a home. We are the royal priesthood, a holy nation. We belong to him.
And all of those privileges that David was talking about, of our heavenly identity, are ours. We have
a different hope. We have a different joy. We have a different holiness. We're distinctive, a different
honor. And last week, we talked about how we are now the new temple of God, this place where
God by his spirit dwells amongst us. And that's where we've got to today in 1 Peter.
But the question that comes with all of these things is how do we live out this heavenly identity
in an unjust world of politics and power struggles? How do you live that out in the day-to-day of life?
And the next two chapters, Peter's going to flesh out what this looks like. He's going to talk about
as citizens. He's going to talk about in workplaces. And he's going to talk about in marriage,
how these things work. And we're going to look at the first two today. But the early Christians,
just to give you background, the early Christians were often accused of being dangerous to society.
not because they were doing a lot of terrible things, but they didn't worship the emperor
or the pagan gods around them. And so people thought they were disrupting the harmony of society.
Slaves were meant to worship the gods of their masters. So if they became Christians,
it looked like they were rebelling against them. And then there were so many rumors that went around.
You know, there were a number of rumors which said that Christians commit incest because they call
each other brothers and sisters. They had other rumors which people thought they were cannibals
because like we've just taken with communion, they talked about eating the body and blood of Jesus.
And they ridiculed them. This is true. They ridiculed them for being killjoys,
because they wouldn't join in with all the drunken parties and they wouldn't go to all the gladiator
fights. And if you're a Christian in this and you're feeling rejected and misunderstood,
and ill-treated in many ways, how do you respond when you feel like life is unfair?
Well, I don't know if you've got kids or if you've ever been a kid, which I think is all of you.
But when things seem to be not going the way you want them to, what are the words that every kid says?
It's not fair. It's not fair. You didn't have to think about it. Every language in the world has
it's not fair in it. You see, you know, you get parents going to their child, did you hit your
younger sister? And the kid goes, well, she hit me first. And the parents go, well, you're her older
brother. And the kid goes, it's not fair. She always gets away with it. I always get in trouble.
Isn't that what happens? And we have this innate sense we want justice in the world. And we know
that this world is filled with unfairness. And it's not just kids who feel that. But what happens is
normally when we feel like we're treated unfairly, we think that that excuses us to treat other people
the way we've been treated. And we feel perfectly okay about our behavior. But Peter is going to say
to us, you guys, that's the way the world rolls. But you guys are a different people. You're a holy
people. You are following in the footsteps of the one who experienced the greatest injustice that history
has ever known. And yet, he stayed holy and responded perfectly. And that was Jesus. And so what I want
to do is start in this passage to look at the end of the passage and then to flow through the logic that
Peter is showing to how we are to respond to political authorities and to unfair bosses.
Okay? Are you with us? Kevin's with us. That's great.
Okay. I've got three things. Patterned after Jesus is the first one of them. Verse 21 to 25. Patterned after Jesus.
He says this. And have your, if you've got your booklet with you, have this in. Please make notes in your
booklet. If you don't have it, get your bulletin out. He says, verse 21, to this you were called because
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his footsteps.
And that word, he left you an example, is the same word that you use for when a kid is learning to draw
the alphabet. Write the alphabet and you have a template over which they begin to start writing.
It's, that's the word. And what he's saying is, Jesus has given you a template.
Jesus suffered for you. He died to atone for our sins. You cannot do that. Jesus doesn't ask us to
suffer to make up for our sins or to atone for anybody else's sins. He's done that. But he does say,
your life is to be traced over the pattern of my life. And not just the way I lived, but the way I
suffered and the way I died. See my footprints and you start walking in them. And so he says,
when Jesus called you, he called you as a disciple and he said, follow me. And where did he tell you to
follow him too? To the jacuzzi? No. He tells you to follow him to the cross and then through the cross
to the resurrection hope that we talked about a couple of weeks ago. And so here, Peter begins to
kind of riff off Isaiah 53 to show you that Jesus understands. If you think the world is unfair,
Jesus knows exactly what unfairness and injustice is all about. It says, Isaiah 53, it says,
Jesus took up our pain. Our pain. It wasn't his pain. It was our pain. He bore our suffering.
Not his suffering, our suffering. It says he was pierced for our transgressions, our iniquities.
We deserved it. We deserved it, not him. And we even thought, it says, we considered him punished by God.
We thought he deserved it. And yet it was what we deserved. And so we get peace. He gets punishment.
We get healing. He gets wounds. We go astray. He takes the consequences. It's the ultimate in unfair
trade deals. But he did it to bring us back to God so we could come to know him.
And how in all of this did he respond to the injustice? Well, Peter tells us, without sinning,
committed no sin. When he was mocked and reviled, that means insulted. He didn't throw insults back.
When he suffered, he didn't threaten. In other words, Jesus didn't sin.
No one, their sin and our sin couldn't make him sin. When we shout, it's not fair, he said,
Father, forgive. When we get mad and to someone's face or behind their backs try and tear them down,
he showed grace. And Jesus in John 18, he says, my kingdom is not of this world.
If it were, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.
But my kingdom is not from this world. I don't fight the way everyone else fights.
You see, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, he knew he was innocent, but he condemned him just to
give himself an easy life. His sin couldn't make Jesus sin. You know, people think that freedom is the
ability to do what you want. But freedom is actually the ability to do what God calls you to do,
regardless of the circumstances. And Jesus was the freest man the world has ever known.
Because no matter what they threw at him, nothing could touch his soul. He wasn't a fearful victim.
He was courageous and strong in the midst of the injustice. How did he do that? How was he without sin?
Because it says he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He entrusted himself to his father.
Do you know that word entrusted? It's the same word that is used for when Judas handed Jesus over to the authorities.
Judas entrusted Jesus to the authorities, but Jesus entrusted himself to his father.
You see, his silence wasn't passivity. It was a deep confidence that in an unjust world,
his father was always just and would vindicate him. He didn't need to judge and shout now because
he knew his father would be the judge. Because that's security.
Without sin, he could entrust himself over to his father. And he had this focus on his father's
mission through it all. Because you know, even in the most unjust situation, his life was a witness to
the gospel. He didn't just die to save us. Even the way he died, others were saved.
Right? On the cross, one of the thieves who'd been mocking him suddenly stops and says,
man, we guys deserve what we're getting, but he's done nothing wrong.
And he turns in faith to Jesus and Jesus says to him, today you will be with me in paradise.
Someone right at that darkest hour snatched out of hell into the heavenly kingdom.
How did he respond like that? Because he saw how Jesus responded.
You see, his response was evangelistic. His response was honoring his father.
And Peter says,
The one who was led like a lamb to the slaughter is now the shepherd of your souls.
He bore your sin not to just get you a get out of hell free card, not just to make you a nice person,
but he died so that you might die to the desires for payback in your own life.
And you might live to do what is right in God's eyes.
Do you realize that's why you were saved?
You see, the gospel isn't just what saves you, it's what shapes the pattern of your life.
The gospel's not just what saves you, it's what shapes the pattern of your life.
And so Peter is saying to these Christians who are facing this unjust, unfair treatment,
he's saying, that's who you're to look to.
Follow him.
And so he comes back, so if I move back, and he says,
Now this is how you were to live distinctively.
Verse 11 and 12.
As sojourners and exiles, abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul.
Abstain from the passions of your flesh that wage war against your soul.
What he's saying is, just like Jesus, the way you respond in unfair treatment is evangelistic.
So don't let the desires for revenge, for anger, for bitterness, to overtake your desire to follow Christ.
Because it will destroy your soul.
Do you know what soul means?
Soul doesn't mean just kind of that spiritual kind of fuzzy part of you that you have no idea where it is,
but it's in there.
That's not what it means.
It means your identity.
That's what the word, your whole identity.
So don't let who you are, this chosen, holy, beloved child, chosen people, distinctive people of God,
for who Jesus died to make you.
Don't let that be derailed in this moment.
He says,
He's saying,
Don't just kind of withdraw from society.
You know, often in history, people, when they're oppressed, minorities just kind of back out and go into monasteries.
You know, don't just withdraw into your own little holy huddle.
And don't just go into society and try and be as disruptive as possible to make your own demands.
He says,
Be engaged in your city and known as Watermark who does good in this city.
That's who you're called to be.
So even if they hate your teaching on sexuality, even if they hate your teaching on truth,
they can't argue with your lives.
Do you know, Bill Clinton, who was a fierce abortion advocate,
that once heard Mother Teresa speak passionately at the UN against abortion.
And do you know what his only response is?
He stands up after her speech and everyone's stunned, waiting for him to answer.
And his one response is,
It's hard to argue with a life well lived.
That's who God has called us to be.
A witness as a community, even when you are slandered and mistreated,
to draw others to himself like that thief.
Because that's what's going to show and demonstrate the distinctiveness of the gospel.
So Peter's going to now earth that,
of Jesus as our pattern,
and how he's to shape the way to live distinctively in two ways.
First way is living distinctively as citizens in an unjust world.
He says this.
This is verse 13 to 17.
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,
whether it be to the Emperor Supreme or to governors,
as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
For this is the will of God.
If you were wondering what God's will is, here it is.
That by doing good,
you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
What is he saying?
He's saying the way that you live as citizens
and the way that you treat those in political authority
is also a witness to other people.
Because the Christians could say,
well, we belong to another kingdom.
Jesus is our king.
Therefore, we don't need to obey the Emperor.
And actually, you find in the history,
a lot of people have said that kind of thing.
Because he's just human.
We follow God.
We're free from that.
But Peter says,
you are free.
Your highest allegiance is to God, not the Emperor.
So live free.
Don't be intimidated by the power of unjust rulers.
But don't sin against them.
Everyone else is always trying to break the rules,
trying to get behind and get under
and trying to find loopholes.
But you guys be distinctive by honoring and submitting to them.
Because God has put them in place, Romans says,
Romans 13 says,
to protect society from chaos.
So keep the speed limit
for the sake of Jesus' name and reputation.
Because actually,
if you're the one who's speeding
and others are not,
what does that do to Christ's reputation?
Because he says,
your opponents,
like with Jesus,
may slander you,
may say all kinds of things against you,
but your life is your greatest argument
to silence them.
And you know,
I don't know about you,
but actually the first thing
that came into my mind was,
that sounds great, Peter.
But how do you honor,
not good governments,
I can cope with good governments,
but how do you honor
someone like Hitler?
How do you honor
an unjust government?
And Peter would go,
that's precisely the kind of governments
I'm talking about.
Because, you know,
Jesus knew about unjust politicians.
Herod at birth,
Pilate at death, okay?
He knew something about that.
Peter himself was beaten
and imprisoned by political authorities.
You know, Nero, the emperor,
would kill Peter in a couple of years' time.
And if you actually do any reading on Nero,
I don't know if you have,
but he's not the kind of guy
you want to hang out with.
Here's a couple of things.
He killed two of his wives,
one by kicking her
and their unborn baby to death.
He killed his mother.
He tried to murder
and force all his political opponents
to commit suicide.
He killed Christians mercilessly.
He's not the kind of guy
you kind of want ruling your country.
But if we complain sometimes
about the governments in our countries,
just look at Nero.
How do you honor a guy like that?
And that's who Peter is precisely talking about.
And maybe for us,
we're not quite at that stage.
Maybe we're like,
hey, how do you honor and submit
to political leaders
that you don't always agree with?
And you know, Christians can
and we should disagree on political issues.
The Bible is not a political handbook.
But I was reading something
that John Piper wrote
and I often quote him,
but this I found just very helpful,
just even as we're wrestling through this
because we live in an environment
with politically charged.
John Piper was writing
in an American context
about the abortion debate
under the previous U.S. administration.
and he wrote an article saying,
how do pro-life Christians
honor a pro-choice president?
And here's four things that he said,
which I think are just really helpful
for us as we think about this.
He said this, he said,
we honor the president
by acknowledging
that you are made in God's image.
Therefore, you have dignity and worth.
The government of your country
are not faceless.
They are people made in God's image.
So we will treat them
with that dignity
and we will not just mock them
and speak ill of them.
We will honor you
because along with Romans 13,
we know that God has appointed you
to this office
to be a servant for good.
Though we're grieved
by some of the political decisions
you have made with that authority,
we know that bad government
is better than no government
as Somalia
and other lawless countries show us.
He says,
we honor you
because we know
if we dishonor you,
we dishonor God
who placed you in power.
We honor you
through making you an image bearer.
We honor you
knowing God has appointed you.
We honor you
by submitting to the laws of the land
which don't conflict
with Christ's lordship.
Submission is a gift we offer.
It's a gift we offer.
Jesus pays his taxes
even though he says he's free.
He says,
I do it to not cause offense.
You know,
the only time you disobey
those authorities
is when they call you
to disobey Christ.
In Acts 5,
Peter is told
to stop preaching
and they go,
hey,
thanks for the suggestion
but Jesus has told us
that we need to preach
so we're going to honor him first.
That's the only time
you dishonor
and disobey them.
But also,
he says a fourth thing.
He says,
just like Jesus
and the prophets call us,
we honor you
by opposing injustice
with nonviolence.
And I think I have the quote
on the screen.
With nonviolence,
with reasoning
instead of rocks,
with rational passion
instead of screaming,
with honorable speech
instead of obscenities,
with forthright clarity
of language
instead of dodging
the tough realities
and tough words,
with evidence
instead of hearsay,
with real portrayals
of life
instead of blanket statements,
we'll honor you
by a relentless effort
to put truth
and not mere emotion
before you
in the White House.
Do you see what he's doing?
He's talking about
a hot button issue
that they're there
and he's saying,
our first allegiance
is to Christ
and though I disagree
with you
in this position,
I need to honor you
even in my disagreement
and the way I do that.
Do you know,
the emotion
that spreads virally,
let me just earth this
a little bit.
What's the emotion
that spreads virally
on social media
the most?
Do you know?
Anger.
All studies show
anger spreads
faster than anything else.
And you know,
anger and hate
is often towards leaders
and political decisions.
And I don't know
how you use
your Facebook account
and your social media accounts,
but you know,
we're called to honor
our leaders
and to glorify God
even there.
And so,
what we say is
we will not sin
in our disagreement,
but we will entrust
judgment to God
and we will care
about our witness
to his name.
Because you know what?
I've received so many
things as Christians,
I think we can actually
pass on information
which is unsubstantiated,
which actually
dishonors leaders
because we haven't
taken the time
to really work out
whether it's true or not
and we just WhatsApp it
on to everybody else.
And do you know what?
That dishonors Christ
because I've found
that sometimes
those things
are not always true.
And so,
here's just a few things
that I think
what Jesus is saying,
our pattern of Jesus
for how we live
distinctively
towards our leaders
on social media.
Okay?
The gospel's very relevant.
Here's a few things.
Am I glorifying God
by the way I'm reacting
and responding?
This is what you
should ask yourself.
Should I hold off
commenting before
I'm sure I have the facts
so I'm not just venting?
Do I praise the good
they do
as well as critique
or not just critique
the bad?
Do I pray for my leaders?
Because, you know,
and this is,
oh, I found this convicting.
I should not post
or speak a critique
of a leader
that I'm not praying for.
Do you know why?
Because my heart
is not entrusting them
to God.
I'm actually just trying
to take control
of the situation
and be what honors me
rather than what honors Christ.
Because 1 Timothy 2
tells us to pray
for those in authority.
So are we that kind
of church
that does that?
Respectful,
honoring,
but still speaking
where we need to speak
in a way that causes
Christ to be honored.
Because you see,
we live in a polarized world.
You're either pro-government
or anti-government.
But if we're citizens
of another country,
those who are pro
will dislike the way
we critique policies
which are unjust.
And those who are anti
will dislike the way
we honor people
they want us to hate.
But we're exiles
with a different president
and our lives,
even our political discourse,
is patterned after him.
Does that make sense?
I think this is challenging.
But we need to hear this
even in Hong Kong
right now.
That's the first point
of how we can live
differently patterned
after Jesus.
Second point,
we need to learn
how to pattern our lives
in an unfair world
as workers
in unjust workplaces.
This is tough.
Servants,
verse 18 to 20,
be subject to your masters
with all respect,
not only to the good
and gentle,
but also to the unjust.
Don't you just wish
Peter hadn't put
some of this stuff in here?
For this is grace.
That's what it means.
This is grace.
When mindful of God,
one endures sorrows
while suffering unjustly.
Let me just say,
the context here,
the Roman Empire
is made up of 25% of slaves.
So many Christians
came out of this group.
And life was tough.
When they converted,
they came out
and it's as if
they were standing
against the religion
of their master.
And you know,
a slave could be anything.
They could be
a domestic helper,
they could be a tutor,
they could be a doctor,
they could be a miner,
they could be anything.
But slaves were legal property
of their masters.
There were no career moves
for them.
It wasn't a kind of
great way out
that they had available.
Because if they escaped,
well, the consequences
could even be death.
And you know,
just like we have,
some slaves had good masters,
some slaves had bad masters.
And Jesus still says,
pattern your life after Christ
whether you have a great boss
or you have a bad boss.
And you know,
he's talking to powerless people.
He's talking to those of you
who have to answer your emails
at three in the morning
or you'll just get shouted
at the next day.
He's talking to those of you
who get unreasonable deadlines
placed on you
and no sense of appreciation
or recognition
for what you do
when you do them.
He's talking to those of you
who feel devalued
and who feel exploited in work.
Who get blamed for mistakes
that other people have made.
For those who feel
you're mistreated and mocked
even for your faith.
Some of you know
what that's like.
And Peter knows.
He says,
even when you've been
trying to do good,
you've been trying to do
the right thing,
you've been trying to honor God
and trying to show integrity
and work hard
and do all the things
that you know
good Christians should do
and then you still
get treated like that.
And that's really hard.
But he says,
endure,
keep going
without letting hate
or anger
or insults
shape you
because this is grace
to you.
This is pleasing
in God's eyes.
In fact,
it's a sign
that you are following
after Christ
and you will enter
into resurrection glory.
Because what Peter
is not saying here,
he's not saying
if you have a bad boss,
just kind of keep calm
and carry on
like a good British person.
He's not saying
have no emotion.
He calls it sorrow.
You see,
he knows,
you know,
have you ever read the Psalms
when they're in unjust situation?
It's not British emotion.
It's like filled
with cries to God
in the midst of injustice.
So it's not emotionless
and neither is it
simply accepting abuse
just passively
as if you've got to kind of
act as a punch bag
for Jesus
and then kind of
thank people
for hitting you.
That's not what
he's talking about.
He says,
no,
we honor and respect
our gods
because when we're
mindful of God,
we know
when we go
into our workplace,
I've got a higher boss
than the boss
who's right in front of me
and he has my allegiance,
not my boss
straight in front of me
and sometimes
that will mean
you speak out
where there is injustice
and sometimes
that will mean
you actually get out of there
if actually
it's going to lead you
to dishonoring Christ
and for those of you
who are going through,
if you are going through
an abusive situation
at work,
in family,
in any place,
come and talk to us
as elders
because we're a community
we want to walk
alongside you in that.
Because I want you
to hear that.
That's not what
Peter's talking about.
Peter's talking
about your heart.
Because, you know,
sometimes in work,
in hard workplaces,
we don't speak out
when we should
because we're so
intimidated and fearful
because we fear
we're going to lose
our job if we say something
or our sense of worth
has been so crushed
because what's happened
is their words
and our boss
has actually become
larger in our eyes
than God
and what he says
about us.
And God,
Peter says,
be mindful of God.
Fear him.
See him for who he is
whenever you go
into your workplace
because he's with you.
He's with you.
But sometimes
it's not just fear
which grips us.
Another response
when you're treated
unfairly
is we kind of
want to fight back
and we kind of
get a little bit
rebellious in our heart.
Maybe you don't say it.
Maybe you just vent
to all your colleagues
around and try and
show them how bad
the boss is.
Maybe you kind of
do the equivalent
of spitting in the food
when you're cooking.
You withdraw.
We forget
who we are
because the passions
of our flesh,
our anger,
begins to eat us up inside.
I wonder
how many of you
have actually become
so consumed
with the unfairness
of your situation
that it's no longer
even on your radar
to do good
to your colleagues.
Have you ever
thought about that?
Because he says,
or maybe you haven't
even prayed for them.
Because he says,
if you sin
and are beaten for it,
in other words,
you deliberately
get rebellious
and then you kind of
take the punishment
for it
and you endure
because I'm going
to be strong.
He says,
what reputation,
what credit
is that to you?
That doesn't honor Jesus.
You know,
I've shared before
but I had an experience
with a previous boss
and it wasn't Tobin.
Just in case,
you know,
rumors spread.
Where
a previous boss
just treated the staff
so terribly.
They lied
and tried
not to pay us
our salaries.
They blamed us
for problems
at the company
and when
this particular
boss left,
we discovered
she'd embezzled
the whole year's profits
from the company
and stole half
of the company's
computers as well.
I was pretty angry
during this time.
I was not,
well,
I felt justified
to be mad.
I felt absolutely
justified
because this was unjust.
The way she was treating
everybody there.
I was mad.
And before she left,
I knew I'm a good Christian
so I'd be polite
on the outside
but on the inside
I was a furnace
of hatred.
Anyone ever been like that?
Was it just me?
Okay.
Well,
come and see me afterwards
and pray for me.
But you know,
I wouldn't pray for her.
I'd join in
with all the venting
at all my colleagues
and I had not even
one thought
to do anything good
to her.
Didn't cross my mind.
I was not mindful
of God.
I was mindful
of her sin.
I was mindful
of all the things
I wanted to say to her
but didn't have
the courage to say.
But I wasn't mindful
of who God had called me
to be in that situation
and that my God
was with me
right there.
And then one day
I was reading my Bible
and God spoke to me
and said,
have you prayed for,
and let's call her Mary,
and I went,
no.
No way.
I'm not going to pray
for her.
Don't you know
what she's done?
And I felt God's voice
coming back at me
and says,
yes.
And do you know
what you've done
to me?
Jesus himself
bore your sin,
Chris,
on that cross.
By his wounds
you were healed.
Chris,
you are a victim
of injustice
but you're also
a perpetrator
perpetrator
of injustice
in the way
that you have responded
to people
who are made
in my image.
And Christ,
Chris,
is not just
your example.
He's also
the Savior
who needs to save you
from yourself
to show you mercy,
to save you
even from your bitterness
right now,
to show you
that grace.
And he said to me,
you know,
I've called you
from being a wandering,
stray sheep,
as Peter calls it,
insecure,
vulnerable,
feeling the need
to passively fight back.
But now,
he said,
you've got a shepherd
who cares
for your soul.
You're mine,
I've got you.
And you know,
as God convicted me
of my own sinfulness
and I repented,
I began to pray
regularly for my boss.
And do you know what?
It's hard.
Those of you who know
what I'm talking about,
it's hard.
But do you know,
over time,
God gave me courage
to speak out
where there was injustice
because my fear
of losing my job
if I spoke out
lessened
as I saw
that my boss
was insecure
and she didn't hold
my future,
my career,
in her hands.
Jesus did.
And I could speak
without hatred
and fear
and still honor her
in my words,
but still talk
about the issues
with clarity
and directness
because Jesus
is the shepherd
of my soul
and he's going
to bring me through.
You know,
it was Easter time
and I went
and bought Easter eggs
for all my colleagues
and I bought one
for everyone
except her.
And I felt God
tug in my heart
saying,
love your enemies,
do good to those
who persecute you.
How different are you
from all the pagans
around you
if you just love
the people who love you?
You see,
in an unjust world,
we're not called
to be just avoiding sin.
We're called
to be actively doing good
to those people
around us.
And you know what?
This is the last thing
I'll say.
You cannot do that
from your heart
by yourself.
Try it.
Unless you are mindful
of the one
who has done that
for you,
unless you see
the cross,
you can wear your cross
around your neck,
you can sing a few songs
about the cross,
we can take communion,
but until you see
Jesus who died
for you
and the pattern
of your life
is to be patterned
after him,
until you see
that the resurrection
follows the cross,
until you see
that you can entrust
and hand over
the situations
you're going through
right now
to him
who judges justly,
you can trust him
with whatever
you're going through.
You can trust him.
And that,
as we wait
for him
to sort things out,
we long
for his return
to come.
So your anger,
your fear,
your sorrow,
you're just continually
in community
giving that back
to God.
What will happen
is your life
will begin
to be a witness
to the people
around you.
Some will mock,
but there will be
some who are drawn
to see the gospel
lived out
in your life.
So how mindful
have you been
of Jesus
in your workplace
this week?
Let's be mindful
of him this week.
Let's pray.
Father,
there's,
I know there's
many people here
who struggle
with what we've
been talking about.
I know I do,
Father.
Father,
and I pray
for us,
Lord.
I pray for those
right now
who know exactly
that that bitterness
has really been
eating them up.
Whether that's
being expressed
towards leaders
in political situations,
whether that's
expressed towards
bosses or others,
Lord,
I pray
that you would
soften our hearts
to see you.
Open our eyes
to see who you've
called us to be.
show us that we
cannot do it
by ourselves.
Show us that we
need to have you
in front of our face
every single day,
reminding ourselves
of the incredible
gospel
so that,
Lord,
we just see that
you are both
our savior
and our example.
Let us be a
community in this
city,
even as we go
into places
of so many office
politics,
so many things
which are filled
with polarized
hatred.
May we be
different,
Lord.
Forgive us
where we have
gone along
with where
everyone else
goes along.
Change us,
Lord.
Bring healing
to those who
have been
really wounded
in their workplaces,
I pray.
I really feel
there are some
people,
you've just
been crushed
and Jesus
wants to say
to you,
I want you
to look up
and see me
and see how
much value
I give you
because I
died for you
to bring you
into my people.
Father,
I pray
that you'd
make us
this kind
of counter-cultural
community
in this city,
that you would
be our highest
allegiance
and that we'd
live for you.
Amen.