WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.000 Turn to Titus chapter 2. 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:11.599 If you're using the Pew Bible, you'll find that on page 1058. 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:14.560 Titus chapter 2. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:19.199 We've been working through this epistle together for the last several weeks. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:24.879 We've got some more weeks still to go on this letter that Paul wrote to Titus. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:29.920 And we're coming today to the next two verses, verses 9 and 10. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:36.159 Titus 2, verses 9 and 10. 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:42.399 It's a short passage, and this is what God's Word has to say to us. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:01:05.359 Slaves are to submit to their masters in everything and to be well pleasing, not talking back or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:30.400 To give us the Spirit, the same Spirit at work in days past, and who is at work now, in sometimes larger ways and sometimes less obvious invisible ways, but in every possible way would the spirit be at work today, we pray in Christ's name. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:31.359 Amen. 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:52.319 And you might say, well, even that guy is kind of lovable. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.599 My boss is incompetent and he's nasty on top of that. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:58.799 The world has good bosses. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:03.519 I think most of you would rather like working for Andy Griffith. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.760 And there's good bosses in the real world too. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:10.159 We lose sight of that sometimes. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:20.240 But notice in our text today, Paul writes nothing about good supervisors or bad supervisors. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:25.840 He's concerned with our attitude toward our supervisors. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:32.479 Romans 13:7, respect to those who are owed respect. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:35.520 Honor to those who are owed honor. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:42.560 This is a great passage for some of you that are always wanting to know where does the rubber meet the road? 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.680 What am I going to take with me into work on Monday morning? 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:48.400 In this case, Tuesday morning for a lot of you. 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:52.159 We just got finished with a series in Isaiah. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:53.599 It was a great series. 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:57.759 Some of you might have found yourselves thinking at certain points in that series. 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:03.759 All right, we've got the Rab Shaka talking to Tiglath Palizer about the Araman Confederation. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:05.840 My head is already spinning. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:10.000 Where does this meet my workplace tomorrow? 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:13.199 There's a lot in Isaiah you could take into the workplace. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:15.280 And I missed that book. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:22.319 But your prayers for simple directness have been answered by the Lord today from our passage. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.599 What should you do Tuesday morning? 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:28.159 You should submit to your supervisor. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.840 You can put one thing in your to-go bag for today. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:32.879 Let it be this. 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:37.199 You should submit to your supervisor. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.080 I think I take the history lesson. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:41.280 I don't really like that one. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:42.319 You're here. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:43.039 It's too late. 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:45.520 You should submit to your supervisor. 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:58.960 In this letter, Paul is eager to show Titus how he can show the people on this island the way that embracing the good news of Jesus affects the way that they live. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:01.599 And you see that especially in relationships. 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:03.840 You see that in the church, in the home. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:05.360 We've looked at those categories. 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:10.000 We're going to be looking about citizens and governments in the next chapter. 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:16.160 Today it's more about our life in the public sphere, particularly the workplace. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:18.879 You should submit to your supervisor. 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:22.879 Paul here gives us a what. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:25.519 Submit to your supervisor. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:30.079 He also gives us a why, and you can see that at the end of verse 10. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:36.160 So that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior and everything. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:38.160 There's motivation for us. 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:43.920 So we'll look at the what, and then we'll look at the why. 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:49.920 But before I get into that, let me just clarify something else. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:05:02.079 Mikey, bosses, supervisors, you read the passage, heard the passage, it says slaves and masters. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:08.240 Why is Paul so sounding casual about something so serious? 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.160 And as Christians, we believe the Bible is inspired by God. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:14.079 It's not just Paul's idea. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.199 So what does God think about slavery? 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:23.519 In our context, when we hear that word, we tend to think of one form of slavery. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:34.240 We think of when people are forcibly kidnapped from their homeland and conscripted to be forced laborers for others for generations. 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:38.480 And the Bible explicitly forbids that kind of behavior. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:42.160 Exodus 21, 16, 1 Timothy 1.10. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:44.720 God stands opposed to that practice. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:51.040 In the Greco-Roman world, there could be a lot of reasons why someone might be a slave. 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:59.120 You might have lost in war and said, please spare our lives, don't take out our civilization, we'll become your slaves. 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:03.439 Sometimes people went into debt and they couldn't pay off their debt. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:05.519 And you can't just file bankruptcy. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:09.920 So at times they would go into slavery to help pay off their debt. 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:12.319 Slaves had varying responsibilities. 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:18.160 Some represented their masters in business affairs, some were tutors to their master's children. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:24.639 Now, I'm not suggesting slaves in this time period had it easy. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:46.879 Whether your masters were cruel or kind, regardless of whether your responsibilities were economic or agricultural or domestic, even though it was sometimes temporary rather than generational, sometimes former slaves could vote, no matter what the circumstances, at the end of the day, if even for a period of time you were owned by someone else. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:50.959 And that's why the word slave is used for most of your Bibles. 00:06:51.680 --> 00:07:02.639 Paul's not endorsing the slavery practices of the American colonies, and he's also not endorsing the institution of slavery as it was practiced in the Roman Empire. 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.279 He's got a more particular purpose. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:22.639 Paul's writing to Titus, but they're writing and sharing with believers who found themselves in a position of slavery, and they're telling them this is what you need to do in the position in which you find yourself. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:25.360 You need to submit to your masters. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:31.519 And that brings us to the situation in which we find ourselves today. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:33.759 None of you are slaves. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:40.560 You might call your boss a real slave driver, but you could leave work if you have to. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:46.079 Military is maybe the one category, in one sense, your property of the U.S. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.040 government, and can't just do and leave whenever you want. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:52.639 But even that's much different than biblical slavery. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:54.560 So we're we're thankful for that. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:00.959 But the situation we find ourselves is a situation in which many of you have supervisors. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:08.720 So we want to take the principle of this passage, even though it's a different day and age, and bring it into our own lives for today. 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:11.759 You should submit to your supervisors. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:16.480 So again, first we'll look at the what, then we'll look at the why. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:27.199 The passage here, verses nine and ten, gives us two specific things not to do as we live out this life of submission. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.680 And then it gives us two positive attitudes and approaches to take on. 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:35.600 The first thing it says is not to talk back. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.320 You can find that at the end of verse number nine. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:39.919 Look there in your Bibles. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:42.080 Don't talk back. 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:46.799 This word has the idea of speaking against. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:50.159 The same term has already been used once before in Titus. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:09:05.200 If you go back to chapter 1, verse 9, it says, an elder should hold the faithful messages taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:09.120 There's the term speaking against, talking back. 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:14.879 You've got an elder who's teaching Jesus Christ is truly God, he rose from the dead. 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:18.799 Someone else comes along and says, no, he's just a man, he didn't rise from the dead. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:21.039 They're speaking against what he's saying. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:23.759 Or maybe he says, You're saved by grace alone. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:27.360 Some comes along and says, No, you also have to be circumcised. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:31.840 They're speaking against what the teacher was saying. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:39.360 Acts 28, we find many people in that passage speaking against, talking back against Christianity. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:51.039 In this passage, though, Titus 2, Paul's not talking about other people, unbelievers, speaking against Christianity. 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:59.919 He's telling Christians who find themselves in a position of slavery, don't speak against your masters. 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:08.720 So I have to ask you, in the workplace, are you known as someone who's complaining and talking back? 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.720 Or as someone who joyfully submits? 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:19.279 When your coworkers are ripping apart the boss, do you join in that speaking against? 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:22.159 Or do you keep your mouth shut? 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:24.960 That's hard. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:29.039 But it's God's word, and God's word is always good. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:30.879 Don't talk back. 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:32.879 Second, don't steal. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:35.360 That's right at the beginning of verse number 10. 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:39.360 You know the name Rita Crwell? 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:42.320 Probably many of you hadn't heard of her before. 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:53.360 She grew up in a small town in Illinois, and in 1983, she was appointed as the city treasurer of Dixon, Illinois, small little unknown town. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:11:00.960 She held that position as the city treasurer for nearly 30 years, and she was praised for her work. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:10.720 One of the city commissioners said she looks after every tax dollar as if it were her own. 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:17.120 Well, she was looking after the tax dollars so that they could become her own. 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:27.200 Over the course of years, she was siphoning money away from the city bank role into her own personal account. 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:33.200 Decades to the tune of over fifty million dollars. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:38.480 Largest municipal theft in American history. 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:42.799 Theft can happen on a grand scale. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:47.120 It can also happen on a smaller scale. 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:06.080 That's stealing money. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:13.679 It might be commonly accepted in our world, but it shouldn't be named once among the people of God. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:18.000 Paul doesn't give a lot of wiggle room here. 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:27.600 He doesn't say, well, if you're not really being compensated the way that you should be, it's okay to take supplies, to exaggerate, you're clock in and clock out times. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:29.360 Don't steal. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:46.799 And at one point, Paul tells Philemon, if he owes you, charge it to me. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.840 It's possible Onesimus stole from his master and then fled. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:56.639 But he encountered Paul and he became a Christian. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:59.679 And when you become a Christian, life changes. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:05.039 And Paul says, I'm sending him back, Philemon, but don't receive him as a slave. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.639 Receive him more as a dear brother in the Lord. 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:16.559 The gospel changes our relationships and gives us a desire to serve with integrity. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.519 Two things to avoid. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:22.799 There's others, but this passage highlights two things to avoid. 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:25.600 Don't talk back and don't steal. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:28.720 You can submit to your supervisors by doing those two things. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:31.279 Then it gives us two positive attitudes. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:33.919 We find the first one at the beginning of verse 9. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:38.799 We're told that they're to be well pleasing. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:42.559 Let me put that shoe on the other foot. 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:49.679 If you were a supervisor, and some of you are, what would it look like for your employees to be well pleasing? 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.240 Just doing the absolute bare minimum. 00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:59.519 No, you want someone who's gonna go above and beyond. 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.440 Like David's three mighty men. 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:15.200 I mean, David didn't even give them a command, he just expressed a desire, and they're off, in this case, they're even risking their lives to get in this water from the spring that he wanted. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:19.759 Say, well, yeah, but I mean, my boss is no David, let me tell you. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:25.360 Maybe not, but ultimately we're serving a greater David. 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.399 We serve a master in heaven. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:32.000 That's that's the important thing to keep in mind. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:41.759 This term well-pleasing in the Bible, it's normally used to describe God's assessment of a situation or our desire to be well-pleasing in God's eyes. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:52.720 So, for example, 2 Corinthians 5 9, therefore we make it our aim to be pleasing to him, that is to God. 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.320 And it pleases our heavenly master. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:02.080 It's well-pleasing in his eyes when we submit to our earthly supervisors. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:06.480 Last description here of what this looks like in practice. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:11.519 The end of verse 10 actually mirrors the first part of verse 9. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:23.679 So it begins by telling us to be well-pleasing, and then it ends by speaking of our need to demonstrate faithfulness, another angle of looking at this. 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:25.440 Only I left out a word. 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:26.960 Look at the end of verse 10. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.879 They're to demonstrate utter faithfulness. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:36.799 Or if you have the NIV this morning, it says that they're to be fully trusted. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.639 Paul is not setting a low bar. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:48.240 You shouldn't be generally reliable in your place of work, but utterly reliable. 00:15:48.559 --> 00:16:02.159 You've seen those surveys where there's the bubbles and you have to fill it out for someone else, or are they excellent, good, fair, poor, miserable, whatever the last word is? 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.159 What would your boss bubble in for you? 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:16.240 Good, reliable, fair, reliable, or excellent. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:18.639 Fully trustworthy. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:25.600 In the story of Joseph, Joseph had a lot of reasons to rationalize. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.639 I don't deserve to be here. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:31.519 My brothers sold me into slavery. 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:36.320 I mean, yeah, Potiphar's giving me some promotions, but I'm still his slave. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:37.840 I don't deserve this. 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:40.559 Hey, I I didn't approach his wife. 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:42.559 She's the one coming on to me. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:46.799 I could have an affair and still get my work done. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:49.919 My private life doesn't really affect my public life. 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:52.159 Lot of ways to rationalize. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.080 But he doesn't do that. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.000 Listen to what he says. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.879 He refuses and says, Look to his master's wife. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:05.279 With me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:07.759 And he has put all that he owns under my authority. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:10.400 No one in this house is greater than I am. 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:19.440 Even though he was still a slave at this point, still owned by Pharaoh, he's withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:23.119 So how could I do this immense evil? 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.160 Utter faithfulness. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:32.319 If that's the what, what about the why? 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.759 If God commands it, that's good enough. 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:39.359 We should take that and be ready to go and obey God's command. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:41.359 But God gives us further motivation. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.279 You find that at the end of verse number 10. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:50.640 Slays are to submit so that they may adorn the teaching of God, our Savior, in everything. 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:56.480 We have a chance to adorn the gospel in our place of work. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:00.319 We don't use that word adorn a lot. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:06.480 It means to make something lovely, to make it more beautiful. 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:11.599 You might adorn a Christmas tree by putting ornaments and tinsel on it. 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:20.799 You might adorn yourself for a nice meal with certain kinds of clothes or jewelry because they want that extra sparkle. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:23.039 Isaiah 61, 10. 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.880 Yes, God is supreme king and ruler. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.559 Yes, he's creator. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:55.599 Do you know him as your savior? 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:04.640 If you don't, drop whatever you're doing, turn from your sins, repent, and trust in him to be your savior. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:08.480 Don't worry for now about how you relate to your supervisor. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:12.240 You worry first about how you relate to God Almighty in heaven. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.400 And he's our savior. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:25.039 We'll look at these verses in a little more detail the next couple of weeks, but verse 13 and 14 tells us that we're waiting for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:26.640 There's the word again. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.400 And then it describes what he did to save us. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:40.960 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse himself for a people for his own possession. 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:46.559 We all come into the world as lawbreakers. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:57.839 Jesus came and kept the law in our place to buy us back from the sinful judgment that we deserved, to cleanse us, to bring us forgiveness of sins. 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:02.720 So if you don't know him as Savior, embrace him as your Savior today. 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:10.000 For those of us who do know the Lord as a savior, this should be very powerful motivation for us. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:19.759 Submit to your supervisors, not because they're always awesome people, not merely because it'll make life easier on you. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:24.079 Submit because you want to adorn the teaching of the Savior. 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:26.079 You want to adorn the gospel. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:31.839 How could we make the gospel more attractive? 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:42.559 You know, we can't improve on the actual content of the gospel, but we can live in such a way that others sit up and take notice. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:49.759 I want to know more about this savior that you say is at the center of your life. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:50.880 Do you see? 00:20:54.400 --> 00:21:03.920 It can sound anticlimactic, I know, to say you adorn the gospel by submitting to your boss on Monday morning. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:18.319 If I threw myself in front of a bus and saved some kids' lives, I know how that adorns the gospel, but when my boss comes in on Tuesday and says, I'm gonna need a report on the Johnson file by noon, all right. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.079 So I'm not supposed to say, look, it's the same as what it was two weeks ago. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:23.119 Why do I have to do that? 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.400 Don't talk back. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:27.920 Don't steal. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:32.000 Don't pretend like the report took you all morning when it took you 15 minutes. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:36.240 I spend a lot of time in the church office. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:43.119 Do I ever in the church office ever watch any Knicks playoff highlights? 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:46.880 That's between me and the Lord. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:54.559 I'm not saying work yourself to death, ignore your family. 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:59.759 I'm not saying if your boss wants you to do 100 hours a week and kill yourself, but utter failure. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.119 Faithfulness. 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:07.119 How does that adorn the gospel? 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:12.480 Just by getting him the report by noon that he wants, it's the same as the one last week. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:14.880 I'll get to that question. 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.000 But let me address an objection first. 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:19.039 It's a pretty weighty one. 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:21.119 I didn't know where to include this. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:23.440 Some of you might be visitors here today. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.400 Thank you for coming. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:25.839 Glad to have you. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:33.200 Maybe your friend or your relative's been saying, come to church, come to church, and you finally said, All right, all right, I'll come to church. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:41.599 And this whole time you're thinking, I thought religion was a scam, and now I still think religion is a scam. 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:43.839 How do you please God? 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:45.119 Uh obey your boss. 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:47.519 Oh, very convenient for the bosses. 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:51.359 That's a powerful objection. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:56.720 But that objection doesn't address Paul. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:59.359 Paul didn't have any slaves. 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:04.079 He was in no position to gain anything by these instructions. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.000 Paul himself was in chains. 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:08.880 He was treated worse than a slave in many cases. 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:11.279 He's got another goal in mind. 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:24.799 And that objection, as powerful as it can be, that religion in general, or Christianity in particular, it's really just a tool for the oppressors to keep oppressed people under their feet. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:26.240 That's all that it is. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:31.839 That doesn't grapple with the cross. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:39.440 The central symbol of Christianity is not a bullwhip, it's not a bank account, it's a cross. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:46.000 Jesus, the Lord of glory, made himself low. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:51.920 He stooped and took the form of a slave in order to save people. 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:58.880 And the cross shows us that we're all level when it comes to how we stand before God. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:14.880 Rich, poor, everyone in between, black, white, everyone in between, popular, famous, ordinary, everyone in between, we all need a savior. 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:21.359 And God has come to rescue us, not to tell us to work our way back to him. 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:36.880 But that brings us back to that question of how does submitting to my supervisor on Wednesday or Friday, how does that adorn the teaching of the Savior? 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:40.160 How does that adorn the gospel? 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.279 Let me give you three ways it does that. 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:44.640 We'll move through these quickly. 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:46.640 You could think of more, I'm sure. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:52.160 It first, it allows us to display the humility of Christ. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:25:02.559 Philippians 2, adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:09.279 Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:16.799 And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:24.480 As the God man, as our mediator, Jesus submitted to his heavenly Father in all things. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:29.119 He came submitting to his parents as a child. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:39.359 Jesus lived this life of submission, but he was living it for us to earn our salvation. 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:43.359 Again, that term there in Philippians 2, 7, some places have servant. 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.960 That's the same word that's used here in Titus chapter 2. 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:48.079 Slave. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.079 Jesus Christ became a slave to win us salvation. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.799 And that kind of humility is beautiful. 00:25:55.279 --> 00:26:03.039 So don't think when you submit to your supervisor, I guess I have to let myself get run over or I might get fired. 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:15.119 Think instead, I get to follow in the footsteps of my Savior and show the strength of bearing up under whatever this circumstance is because of who he is. 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:27.039 Second, when you submit to your supervisors, you can adorn the teaching of the Savior by showcasing a realistic view of yourself. 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:30.480 This is what I mean by that. 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:41.440 One of the main reasons why people tend to chafe and complain so much against their employer is because they think they deserve a lot more. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:48.559 So what if someone in your workplace comes to you and says, I don't understand why you're so pleasant. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:52.799 You're undervalued, you're underpaid, you deserve more. 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:59.759 What if you're able to say to them, truthfully, honestly, the only thing I deserve is hell? 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.160 And Jesus rescued me from that. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:04.720 And that changes everything for me. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:08.400 Wow, we're all level again at the foot of the cross. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:16.559 If people don't understand their need apart from Christ, they won't see their need of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:26.720 Third, last way you can adorn the teaching of the Savior by submitting to your supervisors. 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:31.839 You reveal that your greatest treasure is Christ. 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:36.799 The rat race. 00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:01.440 Or their functional God is the title and a claim that they will receive, the power they're going to get. 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:05.279 That's what the world runs after. 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:09.839 But if your greatest treasure is Christ, those aren't your number one goals. 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:11.920 Galatians 6 14. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:18.720 As for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:22.319 The world has been crucified to me through the cross and I to the world. 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:24.319 Philippians 3, 7 and 8. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:29.519 Everything that was gained to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:37.759 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:44.319 Because of him I've suffered the loss of all things, and consider them as dung that I might gain Christ and be found in him. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:56.480 What if you had that same conversation with the co-worker? 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:59.200 And they said, You're undervalued. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:05.680 And you're able to say, Well, I have what I value most, the love of God in Christ. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:13.200 Whether or not I get that extra cheese on my taco, that's not what it's all about. 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:15.680 It's about loving Jesus Christ. 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:19.519 We sing a song called Jesus Messiah. 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:26.000 It includes these lines: He became sin who knew no sin, that we might become his righteousness. 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:29.680 He humbled himself and carried the cross. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:31.839 All our hope is in you. 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:34.480 All glory to you, God. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:39.839 Let's go back to Joseph. 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:43.039 He demonstrated utter faithfulness. 00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:51.440 But it wasn't merely out of duty, wasn't merely in hopes of keeping his position or getting a further promotion. 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:53.839 Remember what he said? 00:29:54.640 --> 00:30:00.000 How can I do this immense evil and sin against God? 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:04.640 That was the horizon of his vision. 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:06.160 It was focused on God. 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:11.519 And that changed everything about the circumstances of his workplace and his life. 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:16.960 We can do that too. 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:21.279 What should you do at work this week? 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:23.440 Submit to your supervisors. 00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:24.720 Why? 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:29.920 Well, because in doing that, you adorn the teaching of the Savior. 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:32.079 Are there exceptions? 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:32.720 Yes. 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:34.559 The Bible gives exceptions. 00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:38.480 Daniel didn't refrain from worshiping God. 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:41.359 The Hebrew midwives didn't kill the babies. 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:43.279 So we can think of exceptions. 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:50.799 Some of you are in places of work where your supervisor actually wants you to steal from other people, not from him, but from others. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:55.200 False billing, reporting things that aren't needed to be done, that are done. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:31:05.759 And you're going to have to be someone of integrity and say no in those difficult circumstances, only because you value the glory of God and don't want to do anything that's going to detract from the glory of God. 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:17.279 But with those exceptions, Paul was inspired to write in verse 9 people are to submit in everything. 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:20.400 In everything. 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:23.359 But what about those other Bible exceptions? 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:33.359 Notice the end of verse 10 says that our passion should be to adorn the teaching of our Savior in everything. 00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:36.160 So there's a correlation there. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:43.920 Christ should transform all of our lives in every way all of the time. 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:54.720 So we submit as much as possible, not as little as possible. 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:57.200 God knows the human heart. 00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:02.880 He knows we're prone to looking for all the exceptions more and more and more. 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:05.920 And so he says, submit in everything. 00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:17.039 And that's where this message hits on a category that applies to all of us, whether you're in the paid workforce or not. 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:26.559 So if you've been sleeping through this whole message because you don't have a supervisor, wake up for these last couple of minutes. 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:40.240 Slaves and masters, as we've applied it today, employees and employers, that's one example of this broader category of authority. 00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:45.200 And the Bible cares deeply how we respond to authority. 00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:52.319 Children, parents, wives, husbands, church members, elders, citizens, magistrates. 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.920 We've seen it before in Titus. 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:56.799 We'll see it more before we finish the series. 00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:01.039 Not all of us fit into all those categories. 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:03.359 Not all of us are married. 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:06.480 For many of you, your parents have passed away. 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:11.920 So you can't show them the kind of honor now that you could while they were alive. 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:17.759 But most of us do fit into many of these categories. 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:25.200 And it's a way for us to show in our spheres of life how we honor the Lord who is our supreme authority. 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:27.759 Take care how you submit. 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:33.759 We submit because there's a deeper spiritual reality. 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:39.599 Jesus Himself said, You can't serve two masters. 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:44.880 Ultimately, you are going to be someone's slave at a spiritual level. 00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:54.799 Jesus says in John chapter 8 that we come into the world as slaves of sin, slaves of the evil one. 00:33:56.160 --> 00:34:01.519 Ah, but if the Son sets you free, then you will be free indeed. 00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:12.639 And when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, he's a master that couldn't be any more loving, any more gracious, any more diligent to want our good. 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:25.199 And because Christ is our perfectly loving Master, because we belong body and soul to Him, we can submit to our earthly supervisors. 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:26.719 Let's pray. 00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:34.239 Lord, we need this worked into our hearts. 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:41.199 We do pray today, Father, for those who find themselves in a place of supervision. 00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:58.480 Even though our passage didn't touch on that responsibility in the same way, we pray that those in places of supervision would exercise that care and authority, not grudgingly, but lovingly and carefully. 00:34:58.719 --> 00:35:12.159 And we pray for all of us, Lord, in every sphere of life that you've called us to, in the home, in the church, in the world, in the government, and even in the places of work, that we'd want to honor you in every way, because we are not our own. 00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:16.320 We're bought with the price, therefore we glorify you in all that we do. 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:26.480 Give us glory and joy today as we contemplate the glory of our Jesus, who became a slave for us. 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:30.880 Give us gratitude, give us an ever growing love and affection. 00:35:31.119 --> 00:35:40.159 Give us tongues to sing now of your sovereignty over all things, and our prayer that our eyes would continue to be fixed on you at all times. 00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:42.320 In Jesus' name, Amen.