WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:06.799 Today, I'm really excited about what we're talking about because we're beginning a brand new series called In Relation 2. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.199 And what we're actually doing is we're going back to Ephesians. 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:15.039 We spent most of our year last year going through the book of Ephesians, which, if you're unfamiliar, is a letter, I couldn't even say the word familiar. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:24.320 If you're unfamiliar, slow down, Justin, is a letter that Paul, who was a leader in the early church, wrote to not just one church in Ephesus. 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:26.559 That's why it's called Ephesians, but really to all the churches. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:30.320 They would distribute these letters and take them around and read them together. 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:36.079 And I've heard a lot of scholars say that Ephesians is probably like Paul's master sermon. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:45.119 Where if you could sit down and have lunch with Paul, this man that saw the Lord and really took the gospel, the message of Jesus, to more people and more places than anyone else ever did. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:50.960 If you could sit down and have lunch with Paul and say, hey, being a Jesus follower, just lay it out for me, you would get Ephesians. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:52.479 You get Ephesians. 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:54.799 Because Paul does two things in Ephesians. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:55.600 It really has two parts. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:02.240 Part one is he just looks at Jesus and he's ranting and raving about how incredible Jesus is and what Jesus has done. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:07.519 The first half of Ephesians is kind of hard to follow because it's not a person methodically laying this out intellectually. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:11.599 It's a person filled with awe and wonder, just going like, oh my goodness. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.079 Look at Jesus, look at who he is, what he's done. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:23.040 Think about what it means that the God of the universe has come to live for us and loves us and has chosen us and will change us from the inside out and give us his Holy Spirit who will make us into completely different people. 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:24.319 He's just going on and on. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:26.560 He's basically saying, look at Jesus. 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:30.319 And if this doesn't fill you with awe, you need to check yourself. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:33.359 And then in the second half, there's a switch. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:46.239 And it's basically like he says, hey, in light of all this, in light of all that Jesus is and has done, now that you've looked at him and you've considered who he is and how he loves you, live in response to that. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:48.400 And he gets really practical. 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:52.079 And he starts talking about how we should live, not in order to please God. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:52.879 We don't have to do that. 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:59.760 We don't have to live to earn God's love, but we should live in such a way that we're responding to the love he's given. 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:07.200 Elsewhere in the Bible, Paul wrote, and this is in 1 Colossians, it's the only Colossians, it's Colossians 1, 9 and 10. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:08.960 It technically is 1 Colossians. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:15.840 He says, We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:17.759 And that's kind of like the first part of Ephesians. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:21.680 Let's just understand who God is and what he's done. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:24.560 And then part two of Ephesians, you really get summed up in this verse. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:33.840 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit, all the while you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:35.039 That's what we want to do. 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:37.919 We want to understand our God, who he is, what he's done for us. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:47.280 We want to live in such a way that our lives are pleasing to him, and that they're productive and good and healthy, and that we're constantly growing closer and closer to God. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:49.759 So that's where we're at in Ephesians. 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:55.199 Now, it'd be one thing for us to say, hey, we just have to learn how to live in relation to God. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:58.879 That's hard enough in our minds at least. 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:03.520 We have to learn now how to live as people in relation to God, how to live in a way that pleases Him. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:13.120 But where Paul takes us right now, at the very end of Ephesians 5 and going into chapter 6, is actually how not just to live in relation to God, but how to live in relation to other people. 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:15.199 And let's be honest, people are hard. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:19.680 I don't know how heaven works in the sense of like if there's a line to get in or not. 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.919 I'm not sure if it's like a fast pass system like Disney World or whatever, you know, if you can make a reservation. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:24.400 I don't know. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:28.719 Um, but I know this if I'm if I'm in the line to get into heaven, let's just assume there's a line. 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:30.000 Like they're really inefficient up there. 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:31.759 They haven't figured out multiple lanes. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:32.159 I don't know. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:32.879 There's a line. 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:37.520 And I'm I'm I'm a talker, so I'm probably gonna talk to whoever's in my line with me, you know? 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:52.960 And if I talk to the guy in front of me and I'm like, hey, tell me your life story, and he says, Oh man, I gave my life to Jesus, and then I joined a monastery and I went out into the middle of nowhere, and I spent the rest of my life completely secluded from people, just praying and like serving the Lord. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:55.759 I'm gonna look at that person and go, cheater. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:03:58.879 You cheater. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:01.759 That's so much easier than living with people. 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:03.120 You know what I mean? 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:10.240 Like going and being alone and just you and God, like that's fine for a day or two, but no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:21.519 Like get married to a person and live in the same house as them for like a year and have children and have small human beings that you're responsible for and have a job where you have to work for a jerk. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:25.279 Like, do that and then talk about life. 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:31.920 Because the reality is one of the things that makes it hard for us to live in relation to God is that we have to live in relation to each other. 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:35.279 You know, sometimes it's total strangers that test us. 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:47.279 Yesterday I was the worst version of myself for like 15 minutes because we're doing this spring cleaning thing at the house and we're really gutting everything, and and uh we've just had a lot of stuff accumulate over the years with all the kids we've had and all that. 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:54.800 And so I ordered a dumpster, simple enough, and I gave very specific instructions of where I wanted the dumpster put in our driveway for a reason. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.079 And guess what? 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:57.199 They didn't put it there. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:04:58.639 I couldn't have been more clear. 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:01.920 In fact, it was my wife, actually, my wife is the one who told them, so I know she was clear. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:03.839 She's very clear in her communication with me. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.879 And so Megan tells them where to put it. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:08.720 And we call them, and we're not mad. 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:13.680 You know, it's kind of like, oh, we had someone coming over to help us move some stuff, we'll push that back, but we need you to move it where it needs to be. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:18.959 And so we call them, they were like, oh, well, you know, that's gonna cost$100 for us to come out and put it where it needs to be. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:25.439 And we're like, well, I mean, we told you where to put it, and so I feel like it shouldn't cost$100. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:35.519 And then this person on the other line begins to correct us in our in our usage of verbs and how what we said could have really been interpreted a few different ways. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:43.680 And uh, and I just I had a moment, you know, on the phone with this person, explaining what they were going to do and why. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:45.279 And it was it wasn't good. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.920 Like if some of you would have been in my neighborhood, you'd been like, is that our pastor on the phone? 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:55.680 Because I was in the front uh driveway and and I didn't cuss, I didn't do anything like that, but I might as well have. 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:56.959 And it was it was bad. 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:00.000 I was the worst version of myself because this person was just testing me. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:03.920 I will say, and I'm just trying to maybe save some face or whatever, I I did apologize. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:06.000 It got to a point where I said, Look, hold on. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:07.040 I'm sorry. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:09.519 I'm really, I really am sorry for the way I've been talking to you. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.120 I'm kind of a stress monster right now. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:12.720 That is not your fault. 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:14.399 Please move the dumpster. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:16.000 Please, please. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:18.079 And they agreed, and we're all good, right? 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:20.720 But I had to pray this morning, like, Lord, that that wasn't good. 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:23.600 A person tested me and I failed that test. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:29.040 And then there's the people that we actually know, that we have to interact with all the time. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:36.160 I think what happens oftentimes is we're so frustrated with them that it's the people that we we rarely interact with on the phone working for some company. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.439 We just take all of the frustration we have with these people out on this person. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:49.040 You know, it's like, hey, I'm in a really tough marriage and my children are driving me nuts, and I don't like my job, so you are gonna hear all about how I need a dumpster moved 10 feet. 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:50.000 Right? 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:57.279 If that lady would have said, it feels like there's more going on here than the dumpster, I'd have just gotten mad. 00:06:57.759 --> 00:06:59.360 But but that's that's life. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:01.439 We have to live in relation to one another, and it's hard. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:08.160 And what Paul does at the end of Ephesians 5 in the beginning of chapter 6 is he really looks at three relationships. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:12.959 And these won't apply to every single one of us, but almost all of us will definitely have something. 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:16.160 We're either directly impacted or indirectly by all three of these. 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:23.199 He looks at husbands and wives, children and parents, and employers and employees. 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:32.720 Those three relationships that honestly touch our lives or will touch our lives at some point for virtually every single one of us, in some way, directly or indirectly. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:41.680 He says, hey, how can we live in relation to one another in such a way that pleases the Lord and helps us grow? 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:46.079 So that's what we're gonna talk about for the weeks to come, how to live in relation to each other. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:52.240 God wants you to have healthy relationships, he wants you to enjoy the relationships in your life. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:56.959 And he also knows that some of the people you are in relationships with aren't gonna make it easy. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:58.639 They're not. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:03.120 But he loves you and he wants your relationships to reflect him. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:06.399 And that requires some things of us if we actually want that. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:09.120 Sometimes we say things like, I want that, and then we really don't. 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:12.720 And I've said many times, I want to lose weight, and then I don't. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.600 Because I actually want to eat more than I want to lose weight. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:29.040 But if you really do want your relationships to be part of life that you enjoy, to be part of life that fills you with purpose and meaning, then God has something to teach you in that. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:31.600 And I'm so grateful that he gave Paul the words to share with us. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:36.559 And even though it's 2,000 years ago, totally different cultural, totally different time, the principles apply. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.639 Now, before we start examining specific relationships, that's in the weeks to come. 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:42.080 Today we're gonna look at one word. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:47.200 One word that Paul gives us to define how all of our relationships should be. 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:50.240 And it's a word I'm gonna refer to as the S-word. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:54.720 Now, usually when a word is referred to by its first letter, it's a bad word, right? 00:08:55.200 --> 00:09:01.519 Like years ago, my wife was teaching third graders, and I used to love it when she taught elementary school because she'd come home with the best stories. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.120 And there's this one story that I always look back on fondly, it's hysterical to me. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:19.200 This boy in her class who, just to be honest, was a little bit of a whiner, you know, just kind of a whiny kid, always, always the kid who was like, that kid's not doing what they're supposed to do, this isn't right, you know, and as a teacher, you're kind of grateful for that kid because they're like a snitch, and you need to, you need snitches. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:22.799 That's a part of so you need you need somebody to tell what's going on. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:28.480 But then also the snitches, there comes a certain point where you're like, please, I don't need to know everything that's happening at recess. 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:29.120 I don't. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.559 And so one day this kid comes to Megan and says, Mrs. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:39.519 McTear, it's a third-grade kid, points to a boy in his class and says, He called me the D word. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:43.120 And Megan's like, I don't know what the D word is. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.480 But you're probably doing this right now, trying to think of what it could be. 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:48.960 And if you do that for long, you'll discover what I discovered. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:52.080 There are a lot of bad words that begin with D. 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:53.200 Like a bunch. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:54.799 I thought of 15 in 10 seconds. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:58.879 Then I had to pray about why was it so easy for me to think of 15 of those words? 00:09:59.200 --> 00:09:59.519 Lord. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:04.240 Like I was like, oh, it could be this word, and ooh, ooh, that, oh, that would be way worse than that word, and that one's even worse. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:07.360 And it was like pretty soon, I'm like, whoa, there's a lot of D words. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:09.600 I just don't know which D word it is. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:14.320 And so she tells this boy, I need you to tell me what the word that he said is. 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:16.720 And the little boy's like, oh, I can't say that word. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:17.919 You know? 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:24.320 And Megan is like, well, I promise you won't get in trouble, but if I don't know what the word, I don't know what the D word is. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:27.600 If I don't know what the word is, I can't do anything. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:35.440 And so the boy kind of looks down sheepishly at the ground and looks up at her for reassurance, and she's like, come on, you can do this. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:36.399 And he says, Okay. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:40.639 He called me a dimwit. 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:47.279 And Megan's like, oh, thank God, okay, all right, not a big deal, you know? 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:51.120 But then as we say, oh, I'm so sorry, you'll be okay. 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:52.559 Um, I'll talk to him. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.200 And I don't know what the D word is, but dimwit is not the D word. 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.519 Whatever it is, it's not that, you know? 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:02.639 And so I know when I say we're gonna talk this morning about the S-word, there's probably one word coming to your minds. 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:05.519 That's not the, that's not, that'd be a weird message if that was our theme. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:08.480 Um but we naturally think of something bad. 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:15.840 What I will say though is this word that we're gonna examine, it is a word that is far more loaded than what the actual S-word is in our culture today. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:18.960 We find it in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 21. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:24.799 Again, this is like the thesis statement for Paul regarding all the relationships that he's going to examine. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:30.240 He says, and further submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:31.679 That's the S word. 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:32.799 Submit. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.360 That's a bad word in my house. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:39.679 Now, how many of us, let's be honest, how many of us have a positive reaction to the word submit? 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:43.360 You're like, I long to be a submissive person. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.480 Anyone here aspiring to be a submissive person? 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:49.759 A couple hands, Nate's raising his hand, good man. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:50.559 No one? 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:54.080 You're like, no, I want to be bold, I want to be strong, I want to be a leader. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.120 I don't I don't desire to be more submissive. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:02.480 When I think of the word submit, I think of this game that my older brother and sister played with me when I was a kid. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:04.000 I say game loosely. 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:05.039 That's a loose term. 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.639 It was a game to them, it wasn't to me. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:08.559 They called it the take a seat game. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:14.000 And what that was was if I was ever sitting on the couch watching a show, they would stand in front of me. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.840 And if I tried to sit up, they would push me back down and say, take a seat. 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:19.679 And this could go on for hours. 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:28.799 And the reality of the physics is that even if you're bigger than someone and they're standing above you, and you try to like lift yourself up, and they all it takes is a tiny push, and you're you can't do it. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:32.639 And if they are bigger than you, which both of them were and you're outnumbered, it's impossible. 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:37.440 And so the take a seat game was me trying to get up, not being successful until I just relented. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:41.919 The only way for the game to be over was for me just to lay there and submit. 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.960 Fine, I guess I'm just gonna be on the couch for a while. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:46.480 And they got a lot of joy out of that. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:52.320 And then when I had a little brother, I did the right thing and I passed that tradition along to him because that's what you do, you know? 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:54.480 And that's like my mental picture of submission. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:57.360 Submission means you have failed, you have been dominated. 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.000 We connect submission with oppression. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:06.720 But I want us to understand that that is not the kind of submission that Paul is talking about here. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:14.799 Paul is talking about a willing, decided posture of the heart. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:28.320 Where we we value others more than ourselves, and we look for opportunities to submit our will to the will of those around us and ultimately to the will of the Lord. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:32.320 It's not weakness, it's actually strength. 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:35.200 This is something that Jesus, by the way, talks about a lot. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:41.360 So, for example, in Matthew chapter 20, he's talking to his disciples who have just been in an argument about which one is going to be greater than the other. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:48.960 He says, You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:58.320 Now, that was 2,000 years ago, and I don't have to ask for a show of hands of people who have ever had someone flaunt their authority over you. 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:05.039 All of us have experienced what it's like to have someone who has some even menial amount of authority over us. 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:09.600 Flaunt it, abuse it, remind us of it like on a on a regular basis. 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:10.559 We all know what that feels like. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.200 And so Jesus is just describing this human dynamic. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:14.960 He says, But among you it will be different. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.320 Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:22.559 Whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:27.200 For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:28.000 I love that phrase. 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:31.039 Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be a servant. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.480 It's one of the things we actually look for in leadership here at the church. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:44.159 We have a rule when it comes to this stage, for example, our worship team and anyone else who's gonna be here, that there's one thing we will not allow on this stage, and that is pride. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:45.600 Just won't allow it. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:50.799 Can't have it, can't have, you cannot shine a light and give a microphone to pride. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:52.080 That's a that's a bad thing. 00:14:52.159 --> 00:15:00.240 And so we've had people in the past who have have wanted to like be on this team or want to speak, but they won't they won't serve anywhere else. 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.840 You know, like, hey, actually, our kids, our kids' area really needs someone to help teach. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:04.960 Like, I don't want to do that. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:07.200 Oh, you just want the you want the big stage. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:07.840 Yeah. 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.159 All right, well, no. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:14.639 Because the leaders have to be servants. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:16.080 That's how God's kingdom works. 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:19.440 Jesus says, whoever wants to be the greatest among you must must be last. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:21.759 And this isn't like a one-time teaching of Jesus. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:24.639 This is a constant, constant theme. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.519 Jesus uses this illustration in Luke chapter 14. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:32.399 He says, When you are invited to a wedding, don't sit in the seat of honor. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:35.360 What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:38.639 The host will come and say, Give this person your seat, and then you'll be embarrassed. 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:41.039 You'll have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:44.559 Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:49.919 And then when your host sees you, he will come and say, Friend, we have a better place for you. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:58.960 Then you will be honored in front of all those other guests, for those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:02.480 It's submission that he's talking about. 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:18.480 A willing decision to place yourself lower than other people, to be a servant, to sit not in the place of honor, but at the lowest place, and allow the Lord to lift you up if that's what needs to happen. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:24.799 And that's by the way, a promise that we see in Scripture over and over again that the Lord honors those who are humble. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:30.240 Submission and humility go hand in hand, and I just want you to know that there's few things God values more than humility. 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:31.200 Very few. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:36.559 In fact, 1 Peter 5, 5 through 6, in the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:45.039 And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:51.039 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:53.440 It's this promise, the same one that Jesus made. 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:58.960 Those who exalt themselves, who live out of pride, they will be humbled. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:03.919 But those who humble themselves, God sees that, he honors that, he raises it up. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.960 Humility works, it matters to God. 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:20.000 And if we don't have the ability to submit, if we can't be submissive in our relationships with one another, it means that we have a pride issue, and you don't want a pride issue because God does not like pride. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.000 It says he opposes it. 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:24.079 Think about that for a second. 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:28.559 Think about what it what it would actually be like to stand in opposition to God. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.559 Bad idea. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:32.400 Bad idea. 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:39.759 You can read the Bible and you'll come away with a lot of takeaways, and there's a lot of intense stuff in it, and some of the stuff doesn't play well with culture today, and that's fine by me. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:48.079 I read scripture and I see a God who is loving, I see a God who is kind, I see a God who will do anything, anything to show people who he is and to help people out. 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:50.960 I see a God who has more patience than we can possibly imagine. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:18:00.240 Sometimes when you read the Old Testament, which is what we usually connect with God's judgment, you'll see God give nations a warning, and then it's like 300 years later. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:02.240 They haven't listened. 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:07.839 And he sent prophet after prophet and they haven't listened, and finally they get the judgment, and we look at that and go, He is really judgmental. 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:09.920 He waited 300 years. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:11.279 300 years. 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:16.400 You know, you go to a restaurant and it takes you 10 extra minutes, and you're like, This is ridiculous. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:19.039 I am an important person. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:20.319 And you know what I mean? 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:22.400 Like, he waited 300 years. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:23.839 None of us would do that. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:25.359 God is so patient, he's so kind. 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:34.559 I see this loving, kind God who is unbelievably patient, but at the same time, I see a God who makes it clear that it's a really bad idea to oppose him. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.640 Because he just wins. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:40.559 That's why Satan has to be so frustrated. 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:43.039 Because God wins. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.640 And it says that he opposes the proud. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:57.680 Now, when it comes to my relationships, I have to be honest and I have to look in the mirror and say, wow, how much of my relating to other people is rooted in pride? 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:02.880 How often have I allowed pride to be at the core of how I relate to those around me? 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:07.839 And there's some things you can use to check some boxes to see if pride is ever an issue. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:11.920 And to those who would say it is never an issue for me, that's called pride. 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:14.640 Um, but you know, just saying. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:33.680 So for example, if you are a demanding person, if those around you in relationships with you, whether it's your your spouse, your children, maybe someone that you work with, work for, if they would describe you as a demanding person, that could very well be pride. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:42.960 If you are difficult to please, if you have a standard that other people just never seem to live up to, people just can't seem to figure out how to do it your way. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:46.640 That could very well be pride. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:58.480 If you are someone who's manipulative, meaning that you might act a certain way, but you're really just doing that so that you get a certain response, that's pride. 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:00.960 That's just a really creative form of pride. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:13.039 If you're someone whose presence in a room makes everyone else feel small, if everyone has to walk on eggshells when you're around, that's probably pride. 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:20.160 If you always have to have the last word, that's that's pride. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:21.039 Totally. 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:22.240 No question. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:26.480 If you can't be wrong, you can't be wrong. 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:35.440 If it's never your fault, if the way you acted, which was wrong, was just because the person near you acted wrong first. 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:37.759 That's pride. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:51.119 If you cannot apologize for anything without that apology being being followed by the word but, right, you know, I'm sorry, but just so you know, that's not an apology. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:56.640 Or if you have to apologize for the way other people always interpret what you do. 00:20:57.279 --> 00:20:58.319 That's interesting, right? 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:02.000 I am so sorry that everyone just seems to misinterpret my actions and what I say. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:03.519 It's the craziest thing in the world. 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:06.480 I I say the right thing and everyone interprets it the wrong way. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:08.400 Can't be them or me. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:10.000 It has to be like that, you know what I'm saying? 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:11.200 Can't be me, it must be them. 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.200 That that's that might be pride. 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:27.119 If you get more satisfaction out of being right than you get out of love, that's pride. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:40.640 I think about all those relationships that Paul describes marriage, parenting, children, employees, employees, and it's so easy for pride to come in and destroy those relationships. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:43.680 And when those relationships in our lives are destroyed, life just isn't enjoyable. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:47.200 If you hate your job and you can't stand working in the environment you work in, that's hard. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:48.079 And I feel for you. 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:55.359 If you can't, if you're if your marriage is struggling, if your marriage feels dead, if your marriage is broken, I I feel I've been there. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:57.759 That's not a good place to live. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:05.119 If your relationship with your children is strained, If your relationship with your parents is a mess, that is a really hard place to be in and actually enjoy life. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:06.480 That is not what God has for you. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:11.359 But what I want you to know this morning, what God would want you to know is that humility can solve almost all of it. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:15.119 Humility is a really powerful thing. 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:18.960 Because God sees it and he honors it. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:22.160 Anything that God values and honors becomes powerful. 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:26.559 Humility is powerful because God looks at it and He He rewards it. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:36.000 He says, if you will humble yourselves, if you'll walk in humility, if you'll have a commitment to submit, I will raise you up. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:41.519 And so if your marriage is in trouble, I'm telling you, humility can go a long way to solving the problem. 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:47.359 And if you want to see a relationship with your kids or your parents change, humility can go a long way to solving that problem. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:48.160 The same at work. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:54.160 If you're a boss and the people who work underneath you don't enjoy working underneath you, humility will solve that. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:23:01.599 And if you're an employee and you're highly coachable, which is humility, you will be raised up. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:07.759 You'll be given promotions because you won't have a lot of competition. 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:13.119 Humility goes a long way because God promises to reward it. 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:16.799 And when Jesus talks about this, guys, he's talking from experience. 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:19.839 He's speaking purely from experience. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:24.480 We'll wrap up with this Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 11. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:26.720 And in the original language, it's a poem. 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:35.440 We don't tend to read it poetically because it doesn't line up with our language here with English, but it's very poetic and it tells the story of Jesus very succinctly. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.599 Paul wrote, You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:43.519 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:45.839 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.200 He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:55.279 And when he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. 00:23:55.519 --> 00:24:01.920 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names. 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:11.599 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.920 So it says that we have Jesus, who is God. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:20.720 We have God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all equal, all God. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:23.599 But he left that behind. 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:26.319 He didn't view equality with God the Father as something to cling to. 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.160 Instead, he gave all that up, and he what? 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:30.000 He humbled himself. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:33.039 And he was born as a person. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.759 He submitted himself to the creation that he created. 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:38.799 Think about that for a second. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:41.519 Jesus, the Bible tells us, is the author of all creation. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:50.079 We're told in the book of John that Jesus is like the instrument that God used to create the world, that it was through Jesus that God created everything. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:51.839 That the Father created everything. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:57.039 And so you have Jesus, the creator, submitting himself to what he created. 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:03.519 So he submitted himself to hunger, to needing food. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:05.039 He submitted himself to thirst. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:10.880 He submitted himself to needing to be tired, to exhaustion, to needing sleep to function. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:14.880 Jesus submitted himself to the people that he himself created. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:19.519 There's moments in his story where he's being judged by human beings that he created. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:23.440 And they are telling him where he stands. 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:26.720 And he doesn't even fight it. 00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:33.279 If you want to sum up Jesus' life in one word, you could use the word submission and it would hold. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:40.480 Because at every turn, Jesus submitted himself, not just to his father in heaven, but he submitted himself to those around him. 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:46.640 One of my favorite stories of Jesus is the story of him feeding over 5,000 people, and he's gone off to be alone with God. 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:49.759 He's just experienced a tragedy, a death in his family. 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:51.279 And he goes away to pray and be with God. 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:56.160 And when he's alone trying to have his God time, 5,000 people show up because they want to hear what he has to say. 00:25:56.319 --> 00:25:58.559 And he could have easily said, I'm having God time. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:25:59.359 This is important. 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:00.319 It's a bad time for me. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:00.880 You guys need to go. 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:02.079 I'll be with you tomorrow. 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:04.319 But he submits to their needs. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:11.759 He puts his own needs aside and he submits to them and he he teaches them for hours and hours and hours and he feeds them and he takes care of them. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:20.160 Jesus lived his life submitting himself to God, to those around him, to the very world that he created. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:29.359 And I have to look myself in the eyes, which requires a mirror, and say, if my God, like I believe Jesus is God. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:30.640 I know not everyone believes that. 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:31.519 I believe he's God. 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:33.680 I believe he will judge the entire world. 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:35.519 And I can think of no better judge than him. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:48.799 But if I believe that my God has the humility to submit to the very creation that he created, why can't I submit to far, far bigger things than myself? 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:54.559 Like if he could submit to something so much smaller than him, why is it that I struggle to submit to anything? 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:57.039 Sometimes I just I stink at submission. 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:00.799 I stink at it. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:03.839 But it's required to have healthy relationships. 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:13.279 You know, often when we think of the word submission related to scripture, especially this section of Ephesians, we think it's about wives submitting to their husbands. 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:15.200 And some husbands are like, yes, it is. 00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:18.799 And some wives are like, no, it is not. 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:24.480 But but understand this Paul says, in fact, let's go back to Ephesians 5.21. 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:28.400 Paul says, submit to one another. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:31.599 So it's mutual, it's two-way, it's not one-way submission. 00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:35.920 And by the way, he's not talking about wives or husbands here. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:37.599 He's talking about everybody. 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:39.599 He's saying we should all submit to one another. 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:46.640 And then all the relationships he defines out after that, wives and husbands, children, parents, employees, employers, he's saying submissions for all of you. 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:49.440 So what does it look like for a wife to submit in marriage? 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:51.519 What does it look like for a husband to submit in marriage? 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:54.480 What does it look like for a child to submit to their parents? 00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:59.680 But what does it also look like for a parent to submit to their child, to place their child's needs above their own? 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:02.880 What does it look like for an employee to submit to their employer? 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:06.640 But what does it also look like for an employer to submit to the needs of their employees? 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:07.680 That is what he's talking about. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.119 Submission is for all of us. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:17.519 And I'm just saying at the forefront of this series, if you want to live in relation to one another in a way that's that's good and healthy and brings peace and joy, you gotta get good at submission. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:23.920 Yay! Woo! Submit. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.839 So let's be the most submissive group of people in the world. 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:30.400 Like, what if someone came to you and said, hey, what are you really good at? 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:31.599 Submitting. 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:34.240 I love to submit. 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:35.519 Do you have anything you need me to do? 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:39.200 Because I would love to submit to you and do that thing if it helps you. 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:43.440 The Lord loves submission. 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:48.880