so so I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I've got a man, a man sitting here It's a blast. Shall we go? Yeah, let's go. So, yes, yes, you're right. But there's so many... But there are times that... I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it. Yeah. Yeah. you How are you? I don't know why she's crying. I don't know why she's crying. I don't know why she's crying. Good morning, Grace Community Church. Could you please find your seats? Good morning. Before I read Psalm 41 this morning, I would like to pose a couple of questions. Number one, God is concerned about the poor. Am I and are you concerned about the plight of the poor and the downtrodden? Number two, are we involved in alleviating poverty? How? Psalm 41 to the choir master, a Psalm of David, verse one. Blessed is the one who considers the poor. In the day of trouble, the Lord delivers him. The Lord protects him and keeps him alive. He is called blessed in the land. You do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed. In his illness, you restore him to full health. As for me, I said, oh Lord, be gracious to me, heal me, for I have sinned against you. My enemies say of me in malice, when will he die and his name perish? And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity. When he goes out, he tells it abroad. All who hate me whisper together about me. They imagine the worst for me. They say a deadly thing is poured out on him. He will not rise again from where he lies. Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. But you, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up that I may repay them By this I know that you delight in me. My enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But you have upheld me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen. Good morning, everyone. It's great to see you all here and welcome to you all, brothers and sisters in Christ. Welcome to our guests this morning. And we pray that the Lord will just show who he is today and that he would be the object of our worship. And He would be praised if our hearts would be filled with His glory and His joy as we sing. But first we're going to pray and then we'll sing to our God. Please bow your heads. Father, this morning we confess our deep need for You. We confess that we are completely dependent upon You. in order to present anything worthy of your name and worship to you. So Spirit come, fill us with your grace and your power. Turn our eyes upon Jesus, so that the things of earth, the things that occupy our hearts and minds, the things that trouble us, the things that distract us, the things that would taint our view or cloud the sight of you would fall away in the light of your glory and grace. So Lord we pray come, speak to us through your word, minister to us Lord of a fresh sight of Jesus in his glory and grace. In his name we pray, Amen. All right, please stand with me. We'll sing the Lord is my salvation. The grace of God is rich for me! I'm hoping around the world that you'll see me! And I am saved on the solid ground! Now it's my salvation! I will not fear God's resolve. His strength will help me till the end. I'll see the dawn, the rising sun. Now is my salvation. Who lives like the Lord our God, strong to save people in love. God is great, and makes me one. The Lord is my salvation. My hope is within you, O Lord. In the heart of Jesus, I confess. When winter fades and spring will come, Lord, it's my salvation. ♪ Tides of pain, tides of need ♪ ♪ When I go lost, will I find the key? ♪ ♪ I know His grace, for He knew these things ♪ ♪ Now is my salvation ♪ Who didst find the Lord our God? ♪ To save people in love ♪ ♪ I dedicate this day to everyone ♪ ♪ For it's my salvation ♪ ♪ And when I reach my final day ♪ He will not meet me in my grave But I will rise to call me home And praise my salvation Who is like the Lord, our God? Strong to save, faithful in love. I am His way, and I'm His reward. The Lord is my salvation. Oh, bring me to God the Father. Glory be to God the Son. Glory be to God the Father. Glory be to God, the Father. Glory be to God, the Son. Glory be to God, the Spirit. God's people said, ♪ Bluebirds pound the oceans in his hands ♪ ♪ Bluebirds pound through every grain of sand ♪ Regeneration, tremble at its voice. The creation rises to rejoice. To behold our God, ceiling of His throne of blessings. who has given ♪ Who can question any of his words ♪ ♪ Who can teach the one who knows all things ♪ ♪ Who can have them all into one great thing ♪ ♪ We know our God, seated on his throne ♪ ♪ We are the Lord, we are the Lord, we are the Lord, we are the Lord, we are the Lord, we are the Lord, we are the Lord. ♪ The spell that is upon His hands ♪ ♪ Wearing all the guilt of sinful man ♪ ♪ God eternal, humble to the grave ♪ ♪ Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign ♪ see it on his throne God bless the Lord, for him we hold our dear nothing can compare God bless the Lord, for him who will reign forevermore ♪ You will reign forever ♪ ♪ You will reign forever ♪ ♪ You will reign forever ♪ ♪ You will reign forever ♪ ♪ You will reign forever ♪ Our God, seated on His throne, Come let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Please be seated. Good morning and welcome everyone who's here this morning. It's good to see you all here. May the Lord speak to each and everyone that's here and may he grant you just grace upon grace this morning to understand his word and to again draw closer to him as well. Just for some announcements this morning, just that Sunday school is carrying on and so for all ages there's the The children are all gathering in the one room out there and they're watching a series, which I've just totally forgotten the name. Torchlighters. Torchlighters. Anyhow, and so they can do that for the remainder of the summer. And also the adults are gathering in the gymnasium and we're going through the Doctrines of Grace as well. So come join us there. Just again a reminder prayer meeting is at Charles' place this Wednesday night so come and join us there for prayer and just lift up the concerns of the church and the church worldwide as we gather together there together as well. And just again this morning, their email did go out, but I just want to just say a great thank you to Cheryl for all the work that she has done over the last little while in being Church Secretary. And we just want to just really appreciate and thank you Cheryl for all that you have done for us. So thank you. Let's open our Word of God this morning and we're going to be beginning in Matthew chapter 1 this morning. Matthew chapter 1. Charles loves giving me names to read. Beginning in verse 1 it says, The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob. And Jacob, the father of Judah and his brothers. And Judah, the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. And Perez, the father of Hezron. And Hezron, the father of Ram. And Ram, the father of Amminadab. And Amminadab, the father of Nashon. And Nashon, the father of Salmon. And Salmon, the father of Boaz by Rahab. And Boaz, the father of Obed by Ruth. and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah, and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah, Yeah, was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiudid, and Abiudid the father of Ilichem, and Ilichem the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliudid, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Mathan, and Mahan, the father of Jacob, and Jacob, the father of Joseph, and the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ, 14 generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be the child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgins shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us. And when Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. We have a long list of names as we began this chapter, the genealogy of Christ. Many of them you will recognize, many of them you will not know. We don't basically know anything of some of these people in there. But what we do know of some of them, they were liars, and they were cheaters, and they were adulterers, and they were thieves. What God used, He used sinners. He used sinners through the whole history of the course of this book to show us that there's no way there is such thing as a perfect man. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God loves to use sinners for the purpose of extending his kingdom and glorifying himself. And so, as you've gathered here this morning, and you sometimes feel that you're maybe not worth much, you're kind of an oddball, and you don't really fit, and you haven't got anything to do in this world, I challenge you to get into the Word of God and study it and realize that God has a place for every one of us. And it's in various areas and various parts of this world, in your job, in your house, wherever you're at, God has a purpose for you and we need to fulfill it and allow God to work through us, to use us in such a way that we would bring glory to Him as well. So consider that, consider the fact that you need to do as God is leading you to do. And where He's taking you, even today, where you're sitting today, the wife you have, or the children you have, or the job you have, whatever, whatever your vocation, God's put you there for a reason. Let's fulfill all we can for His glory in everything we do. Let's just bow our heads in a word of prayer and just ask for the Lord's blessing upon his word and for the ministries of this church as well. So let's just bow our heads in a word of prayer. Father, I want to thank you for, again, your word. And as we begin the book of Matthew, You continue to reveal Yourself to Your people. You show, Lord, Your great plan of salvation for the beginning of time. And how, Father, You take and You use various people throughout time to continue that plan. Help us, Father, to see in our own lives that You have a purpose for us, each and every one of us. Sometimes, Father, we don't know what it is. We sometimes feel a little lost. But come now, Father, by Your Spirit and just awaken all of us, Lord, a real understanding of what it is You would have us to do so that we, in our own lives, in our own sphere of influence, Lord, would be able to glorify You in those things as well. So I just pray that You would come. and that you would do great things through everyone that's here this morning. Whether it be the preaching of the gospel, whether it be just their testimony and their witness as they work and as they raise their children. Father, I just pray that you would just use all of us in a very powerful way. And Father, we would all be looking forward to that day when we wouldn't be looking forward to the birth of your son, but we would be looking forward to the coming of Your Son on the clouds to come and to take us to be at home with Himself. So Father, we plead with You, give us the grace each and every day and give us a peace in our heart that would know that we're walking with You and trusting in You and that we can depend upon You to lead us in everything as well. And Father, I pray that you would do the same for all our missionaries around the world and especially, Lord, for the McFalls in France. We truly thank you, Father, for their work they're doing there and for their ability, Lord, to reach out to the, especially the students that are there as universities open again and will be opening. Students are coming back. I pray that you would just grant them the ability, Lord, to just welcome those people into their home for their studies and that you would draw many people in their Lord and that you would just grant them the ability to share the good news of Christ in a world their Lord believes. full of paganism. And so I plead with you, Father, bless your people there, save them, and just use them at falls in a very powerful way, Lord. Even through the preaching of your word, use them, Lord, to just extend your kingdom in that portion of the world as well. Father, we just pray that you would just bless the government here, that you would continue to minister to them as well, and that you would just save them. that you would point them to Christ. Allow them to hear your word, Father. Somehow, whether it be on the radio, whether it be in person with somebody, but Father, take your word and implant it in the hearts of our rulers, in the hearts of those in government, whether it be Ottawa, Alberta, municipal, wherever it is, Father. Just save people, Father, and save your life. And just draw people and fill your church, Lord, with believers around this world. I pray as well that you would just continue to cause conversions here in this place and that we would have opportunity to continue to share the gospel with others and to just build one another up in their faith. And that you also, Lord, would just bless the giving in this church, and that you would use the money that's given, Lord, to truly be used for the building up of your church, for the strengthening of your body, and for the glorification of you in everything that we do as well. So help us and give us wisdom in that regard as well, Father. We need your guidance as elders and as deacons as well, Father. Give us much grace. So Father, we depend upon you and we look forward to hearing your word. We thank you, Father, for Charles. We thank you for his desire to preach here this morning. And I do ask that you would just quiet his soul and that you would give him peace. And Father, he would know your presence with him as he stands up here to speak. And that you would give him the words that is required, Lord. And that we ourselves, Lord, would have ears that would be open to hear. And Father, you would speak to us and encourage us and build us up in our faith. And most of all, Lord, just help us to see your Son, Jesus Christ, in a way that we've never seen him before as well. So come, I pray. Be with us all now. Give us much strength, much help. Grant us greater faith, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, before the message, you'll have a chance to stand with me again. We'll sing to the Lord. We'll sing to one another. Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Spiritual songs. The first song is One Trial's Time. When trials come, no longer fear, For in the Kingdom of God's love, To fire and flame we're born and grown. And there is faithfulness, There is faithfulness to all. Within the night I know your peace. The bread of God brings strength to me. ♪ And new each morning mercy flows ♪ ♪ As treasures of the darkness grow ♪ ♪ As treasures of the darkness grow ♪ you. ♪ When I am weary with the cross ♪ ♪ I see the triumph of the cross ♪ ♪ Oh, in its shadow I shall lie ♪ ♪ Till we complete the work begun ♪ ♪ Till we complete the work begun ♪ One day all things will begain new, I'll see the hope you brought me to, And in your Kingdom make me whole. I'll praise your gratefulness of old. I'll praise your gratefulness of old. It's a great song for our lives and our trials. And I pray that it will be something that's a source of strength, a source of just reshaping our vision in those difficult times when our faith is tested. Next song is My Faith Looks Up To Thee. so ♪ Our faithful trust in Thee ♪ ♪ Thou Lamb of God, we pray ♪ ♪ Savior divine ♪ ♪ Thou hear our prayer ♪ ♪ Take all our guilt away ♪ Oh, let me now to say before we die, with thy rich gracious heart, ♪ Strength to our making are, God's healing smile. ♪ ♪ As thou hast died for me. ♪ ♪ Come to Thee, pureborn and chaste, with a living heart. ♪ ♪ Come, heart to heart, meet at prayer, and preach the loudest prayer. ♪ Wee now, my God, when darkness turns to day, white sorrows tears away. More than the ever-strength of the earth's sky. Red and white, red and green, red as balsam trees. Please be seated. Good morning. Take your Bibles out if you have them with you and turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2, I'm going to read this morning from 13 to 25. I don't know about you, but I've very much been enjoying working through the book of 1 Peter. It's always been kind of, I would say, more so one of my favorite books, and I think in part it's because of the author. Peter seems to be like a guy that I can identify with to some degree. He's a tradesman, a fisherman. God called him in a unique way to do his work. And every time I read the book of 1 Peter, I find that there's something about the style of the writing that just, it's easy to follow. Paul is kind of... He gets really in-depth, sometimes he loses me, and Peter just seems to be kind of speaking to the working man a little bit. And I really enjoy that, plus just the character that I have thought of about Peter seems to mesh a little bit with me. Caitlin and I have started watching, just a little bit, and I was apprehensive, but so far I like it, that series Chosen. Has anybody dabbled with that? Yeah, are you enjoying it? Yeah, I think we're enjoying it as well so far. And what I've actually really found interesting about it is the portrayal of Peter and his attitude, his drive, his zeal, kind of his spontaneity, his quick mouth. He's a getter done kind of guy. I can relate to that as a tradesman. And so just the book and how Peter works through things, that works for me. And this morning, this morning is incredibly, incredibly practical. It doesn't get much more practical than our text this morning. So if you have your Bible open, I would invite you to stand as we read God's word together. The focus of my message is going to be on 18 to 25, but I think the whole thing kind of fits together and it picks up where Ryan left off two Sundays ago and so we will read the whole passage together. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as 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, that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds we have been healed. For you were strained like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. May God bless the reading of this word and let's pray. Holy Father, Lord Jesus, Spirit, we are so desperately in need of you this morning, each and every one of us. I am in need of you to guide my mind and my words through this inspired text that you have providentially set before us this morning. This congregation is also in need of your spirit, that what you have to say to this morning would be received with joy. That this morning would be another small step in a long life of sanctification that helps us to become more like Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you for the great salvation that's been poured out on this people. And Father, even this morning, there are those here who have not received the Spirit. They are not yet born again. And so Father, not because of this preacher, but because of the Lord Jesus who they see in the text this morning, would you give them new life? Would you grant repentance? and the desire to be like Christ in every way. Lord, do this also to your people, whoever you have chosen. Make us like Christ. Lord, that every day of the week, as we go about our business, our lives radiate forth the Lord Jesus. Do this, I pray, for your name's sake. Amen. You can be seated. Well, as I said about studying the text, I had to listen to many different things. I rely heavily on audio to help me work through and study as I don't have a great deal of time to sit down and read enormous amounts of books. And so I rely on the things that God has graciously given to guys like me to study and work through the text. And I came across some lectures from Dr. Michael Kruger and I've really appreciated his work in the past and so I listened to some of his overviews on the book of First Peter and he put forth an idea of themes that flows throughout this book and I just want to share that with you because I think it does well to set the table for us this morning. As Kruger lays it out, there are a number of primary themes that we see throughout the book of 1 Peter. And the way he unpacked it, he says they flow sort of one from another. That is, the theme of salvation, the theme of suffering. theme of submission, and as I was thinking about it, I thought it's a little bit like those Russian stacking dolls, right? And if I would have had some, I maybe would have brought them, but they all fit together, and as you pop the lid off of one, another one sets out, and another one sets out, and yet they all come together in kind of a packaged deal, and For Peter, there's a number of really important things that he wants to convey to the exiles, these Gentiles who are dispersed all over the place, as to how it is going to be in their life now that the Lord Jesus Christ has come and changed them and given them salvation. And so first he unpacks and it comes right at the beginning, the salvation that has been given to them and has been given to us by the Lord Jesus. And you see the wording sprinkled throughout the book. That we have been ransomed with the precious blood of Christ in our text today, that he bore our sins in his body on the tree. In 318, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. There's this salvific motif that encompasses the whole book. But right under that, and right in the first chapter, by the time you get to the sixth verse, you right away understand that Peter understands something about the people he's writing to. They're already going through hard times. And that is something that just is part and parcel of being born again. There is a kind of suffering that happens to us as Christians that is not the kind of suffering that happens to the world at large. Yes, there is suffering globally for all people, but in particular for Christians, We suffer because of our unity with Christ. And so you see that in chapter 1 verse 6. In this you rejoice. You rejoice in your salvation. Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. If you do a word search on suffering, you would see through every chapter of the book of Peter, this word comes up because this is part of the Christian life. And Peter wants to help the Christians deal with that. He wants to give them the tools to suffer well. He both starts and ends the book with these ideas. In chapter five, verse 10, You see it again. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." That is very comforting words. Now on the heels of the idea of suffering comes another theme that Peter unpacks for us, and it's right where we are now. If you suffer as a Christian, there is going to be a necessity to submit to that suffering. Submission is another theme that flows out of this. You've been saved, therefore you will suffer. Therefore you must submit to that suffering. And not only just to the suffering, but you must submit to those who bring that suffering upon you. And we see that in these following verses. Everyone submits. Everyone submits to someone. In the case of a Christian, sometimes that means submitting to those who bring hard times into our lives because of our commitment to Christ. So this morning, we look further at this idea of suffering and submission. I've broken the text up this morning, 18 to 25, into kind of three observations. And good on me, I even alliterated them. So first comes a command, which we will look at. Then, as I observed, I believe there then comes a complaint, although you may not see that directly in the text. So we'll deal with that. Command, complaint, and that is followed through by conformity. Command, complaint, conformity. And so we will work through the passage in those three stages. So then, verse 18. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect. For the sake of our context here this morning, I'm going to lay it right out there. This is for us in our day, the employee, the boss employee, the master employee relationship that so many of us are in. How many are going to go to work tomorrow morning? There's got to be a bunch of us in here. No, not tomorrow morning. How many are going to go to work Tuesday morning? Right? A great deal of us are going to work on Tuesday morning to be under a master. We're going to wake up and we're going to go to work at the time that our boss has asked us to be there. Then, when we are there, we are going to spend the rest of the day doing things that he or she asks us to do. Then, at that time, when they have prescribed for us, we're going to get in our vehicles and go back home. And so the rat race goes around and around and around. Now this is easy enough to do if you like your job. This is easy enough to do if you have a good working relationship with your boss. But the text says, that servants be subject to your masters with all respect. We are to submit, we are to put oneself under with respect. Now, I looked up that word, respect, some 47 times throughout the New Testament that Greek word is used, but almost every time, except for a few occasions, it's actually translated in the English as fear. Put oneself under with fear. There is a mindfulness that this is my master. He has a very real power over you. At the end of the day, the buck stops with him or her. They cut the paycheck. What they say goes. Therefore, the right attitude to hold in that relationship is respect. Now, I have a very good working relationship with my boss. We're about the same age. We have very similar passions. We enjoy our industry. But I've always sought to maintain a distance between us. That is, he's not my buddy. He's my master. He's my boss. What he wants is what I need to do. Now, there are some of you here this morning who, maybe you're self-employed. And so you think, well, I don't know, how is this message going to apply to me? I'm kind of my own boss. Well, I was once self-employed as well. And what I learned during that time is that being self-employed is very often somewhat like employment with just a lot more freedom. And what I mean to say is even when you're self-employed, you are working for somebody. There is someone above you, there is someone who's cutting the paycheck who you have to answer to and who will give you the order. And so don't think this morning that if you're a self-employed person, well, maybe this text says nothing for me. I think that there's many principles here that it has for you. Now, of course, Peter is not the only biblical writer who calls us to this kind of submission. Paul does in a number of his different epistles, and I think it would be good for us just to briefly think about a few of these things that Paul also says. In Colossians 3.22, Paul says, slaves obey your earthly masters in every respect. Not only when they are watching, like those who are strictly people pleasers, but with a sincere heart fearing the Lord. Right? We are not to go about our work and then in the back alley and on the drive to wherever you're going or when no one's looking, grumble and complain. We are supposed to with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord, do all of our work. There's something else in the motivation behind what we do that is driving our joyful working, and that is that we do it for the Lord. Paul, again, to Titus in chapter two, verse nine of Titus, he says, bond servants are to be submissive to their masters in everything. They are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. As Christians, how we live our lives on our job sites, in our workplaces, is meant to adorn the doctrine of God. That means that, and I love that saying, I often say, adorn the gospel. How can I act, how can I react in a way that exemplifies Christ to my coworkers? And it's not something that's always at the forefront of your mind. but it's something that we are called to every single day of our life, and that's what I'm saying. I see some heads nodding, but this is so incredibly practical for us. Theology is practical for us, and this particular passage today I think drives right home to where so many of us are at every single day. Now, to have this kind of submission to our authorities in the workplace does not mean that we are just a bunch of yes men, yes women. We just simply do whatever we're told, no matter what. No, that isn't the case. As we are still supposed to live our lives as holy people, filtering every thought through the perfect law of God, thus making us set apart and holy, and that's exactly what Peter has been calling us to as we've worked through the book so far, to be that different people, a holy people, a royal priesthood for God's own possession, proclaiming his excellencies. Now, the text though, it gets difficult, because so far, everything that I've said to you, I think seems fairly straightforward for us as Christians, fairly simple. But that's not really what Peter wants to focus on. Instead, he says that we are to submit, be subjects to our masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also the unjust. See, now this is where it gets difficult. I think when we read this, it chafes at your soul a little bit. Does it chafe just a little bit? What do you mean when my boss is mean to me, when he disrespects me, when he asks me to do things that I don't want to do, that I think are stupid, that I think are maybe not efficient, I'm supposed to submit even then? Maybe I could teach him a thing or two. It's precisely here where the concept of submission comes to life, right? Up until now, sure, I go to work every day, got a great thing going on, but now a trial comes into your life and suddenly the idea of submission really kicks in. Submission forces us to deal with things outside of our preferences in a way that is much more than just running away from the problem, right? As North Americans, this is kind of our MO. We are a free people. We're not gonna take this. but that should not necessarily be our response as Christians. Now I want to caveat that with something that's true, and that is there may be situations that we find ourselves in as Christians where at some point the right time comes when we need to extract ourselves from that situation. it maybe get abusive in a way that is no longer right for us to be there. Even Paul says that if a slave can find his freedom, then that is a good thing. And so don't think that what I'm teaching us this morning is that we need to submit, submit, submit, submit until it destroys us. That may not be the right way to love our neighbors. Fathers, you need to provide for your families. And so there may be a time, and I will leave that up to you and the Holy Spirit and the situation itself to know when that is, but there is a general rule here that Peter is setting forth to us that we should submit even when it is unjust. And that is very difficult. There's a number of ways that that might work itself out for you. Maybe your employer has a certain way of doing things that seems backwards to you. Has anyone been in that situation? Do you do it your way when he's not looking, or do you grumble about it when he or she is not around? How do you work through that, right? Your employer or the person you are working for is rude, vile, disrespectful to you. particularly because they found out that you're a Christian. And that really just galls them. They're going to ride your case. Yet, they haven't asked you to do anything that would go against God's law. There isn't anything in the situation that, for you in particular, is sinful. Do you engage in boss bashing with the other co-workers when he's not around? Maybe what you were supposed to do is to keep silent and go about your tasks to the best of your ability. I know of a lady who could not find a job for the longest time. And finally, she found a job in a flower shop, which is something that she was actually quite good at, arranging bouquets. The problem was that her boss was an absolute jerk. He expected her to do things that as she shared them with me, I thought, that doesn't make any sense. You're right, that is, that's really frustrating. And he singled her out very often to just bother her and ask her to do menial tasks, to drive her to insanity. This text is for someone exactly like that. There are unjust expectations. Taking a delight in beating you down And for us as Christians, this is going to happen more and more as the culture gets more ungodly, as the culture loses every last little bit of Christian semblance that was on it. We are going to find ourselves more and more marginalized, made fun of, disparaged, because we don't do things the way the world does. What are we going to do in those situations? Well, Peter, knowing that many of his readers are exactly in these kinds of situations, he says this, verse 19, for this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. That's a radical statement. That is a very radical statement. And I struggle, I'm often an NASB reader, which in that translation it says, for the sake of conscience towards God, and I don't know why I struggled with that wording, but I like how the ESV renders this. For this is a gracious thing. When? Mindful of God. What is your reasoning for dealing with the injustice the way that Christ would? Because you are mindful of God. You are not necessarily in it for yourself. You go to work and you work as to the Lord. I also like how the NET translated it. God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. It should be so that if you want to see a particular people with a peculiar motive in the workplace, you should only have to look so far as the born-again Christian. I just alluded to this verse But I see it here, Colossians 3.23. If you're struggling with this, if you're in a situation where maybe the workplace is difficult for you, then I would ask you to memorize Colossians 3.23. Whatever you do, work hardly as for the Lord and not for men. Whatever you do, work hardly for the Lord and not for men. Peter goes on, for what credit is it making a comparison, for what credit is it if, when you sin, you are beaten for it, you endure? Okay? I mean, there's some credit in that. When you actually do something wrong, and you receive the just punishment for that, that's good and right, but he's arguing from the lesser to the greater. He's making a comparison. But, if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. So much more than merely getting the punishment that you're due, you are now being treated unjustly, and you are doing good, and you are doing it for the Lord, and the Lord looks at that and He said, that is a gracious thing. Look how my servant is responding in that situation. That is a gracious thing. Have any of you ever been in a situation like this? I think that these situations are coming to us. And this, the command that Peter gives us here, I don't know, for me it grinds. It feels, it doesn't feel right. I want justice. I want things to be said right now. And so it grinds on us. And our flesh will so quickly look right past the last part of verse 20 and try to justify doing our own thing instead. If you're like me, you have a strong sense of justice, and so you want to see things made right. You want your master to live right. Maybe you think that you can be the agent of change by doing something different than what you were told. My way is more efficient. This guy doesn't know what he's doing. I know another guy who had this kind of attitude. and it's the author of our text here. It is Peter. Peter didn't like the idea of submission, at least not at first. So if you have your Bible, go to Matthew chapter 16. Because Jesus taught this to Peter very early on, and his response was not exactly the way it was supposed to be. And so we move from the command to the complaint, because we struggle with this. We don't like it. Submission does not come natural to our sinful nature. So here's the complaint. Matthew 16, 21 to 22, and from that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed. and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Far be it from you, Lord, this should never happen to you. What are you doing, Jesus? You're the Messiah. You're the one who's gonna come free and liberate Israel and crush our enemies. What do you mean you're gonna die? What do you mean you're gonna suffer? That's crazy. Don't talk like that. How many of us would dare to admit that there's still too much young Peter in us? And not just in the context of our employment situation, but even towards our government, or in our family lives, or in our church lives. We complain and object, just like Peter, because we have not understood the full implications of the gospel. You know, there are many commands in scripture that tell us how to live and how to deal with difficult situations. And we should know that behind those commands is the gospel, driving the why and the how of those commands. But we so often default to the fleshly response. But Peter, whose heart has clearly been changed by the gospel, he's not going to let us do that in this passage. There are many, many, many passages throughout the New Testament and the Old where we have commands and commands and commands and just move on. But in this passage in particular, we are given the direct gospel application of why we are supposed to act that way. In fact, that was one of the things that was so incredibly refreshing to both Caitlin and myself when we first started coming to Grace Community. It was suddenly, we understood how the gospel applied to our lives. Before, it was just, Jesus died on the cross for your sins, done. By the way, love your wife. These things, they go together. These things go together. And so Peter takes this command of submission to the governing authorities, to our masters next week, wives and husbands, further down to the church, and in the light of suffering that will come about because of Christmas, he puts it all together and he tells us, for to this you have been called. I actually wonder, I wonder if when Jesus took Peter aside and rebuked him back, said, get behind me Satan, if maybe what else he might have said to him is, Peter, for to this I have been called, and for to this you have been called. And so Peter never forgets that. And of course, I'm guessing, I don't know if that's exactly what happened right there, but something similar to that must have happened right there, because it was ingrained into Peter. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. This is where we transition from the complaint to the conformity to Christ. Complaint to conformity. And we say, why is this happening to me? Why is my boss such a jerk all the time? Why does the government act like they can just do whatever they want? My husband says he loves me, but he sure doesn't treat me that way. Suffering, submission. And the answer to questions like this is not found in self-help books on how to be more successful and prosperous in life. It is not found in the ponderings of philosophers. It is not found in the false teaching of so many so-called evangelicals across America and that American gospel that is damnable. The answer to these kind of questions and frustrations and sufferings is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. because he suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. So right after, if you're still in Matthew, right after Jesus rebukes Peter, these are the next words that are in the text. If anyone would come after me, if you are going to follow in my footsteps, Let him deny himself, take up his cross, embrace the suffering, and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life, whoever embraces the suffering, whoever submits unjustly in these situations, for my sake they will find it. Do you see how that goes together? And so what does following Christ look like? That's where Peter's going. He stated it, but now he's gonna give us the example. It looks like a suffering servant. That's what the Christian life looks like. It looks like a suffering servant. Peter's now going to very briefly apply what the suffering servant looks like. If you're quick with your fingers, go to Isaiah 53. And I'm going to read maybe the whole chapter. Because Peter alludes to this chapter, and this is powerful because, number one, it tells us what Peter understood about that Old Testament text that many Jews had not understood yet. This was about the Lord Jesus Christ. But he goes to Isaiah 53 as the quintessential passage that demonstrates for us what suffering is going to look like. How do we follow in the footsteps of Christ? We emulate this. We emulate our Savior. So Isaiah 53, I'm gonna start at verse three. Speaking of our Lord Jesus, Maybe the one who you haven't come to yet, but you need to. He was despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. That's what Peter Quotes in verse 24 of our text. We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed. Again, quoted in 24. All we like sheep have gone astray. That's quoted in 25. like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is before its shears is silent, so he, that is Jesus, opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people, and they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth." That's now quoting verse 22 of our text. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilt. He shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in this hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death, and he was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. This is the example of a suffering servant. The example that Christ has called us all to as his followers. Jesus is an individual who was exalted through humiliation. We're called to that kind of life. His glory comes not through attractive physical appearance, but by his willingness to experience the disgrace and judgment due to others. And so Peter says in 22, he committed no sin. For to this we were called. This is how we're going to deal with these situations in suffering as we live out our lives in this world as exiles. were opposite to the world. And what Christ did, he committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. You know, and I know from personal experience, one of the first things that we are so prone to do in situations of ill-treatment or injustice, is utter our contempt for the situation, our contempt for the individual. But Peter is teaching us, through the example of Jesus, there is a godlier way. Now, D.A. Carson notes something helpful here. that we all need to take away, and it flows from the whole book of 1 Peter. Carson writes, Peter's readers, of course, were suffering verbal abuse. Have you ever suffered verbal abuse? And he gives some examples just from the book of 1 Peter, 1 Peter 2.15, for this is the will of God that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Put to silence, that means there's all kind of words coming out of their mouth towards the Christian that's demeaning them and putting them down, and to counteract that, to do good. It doesn't say to say anything. How about 1 Peter 3, 9? Go look at that. Do not repay evil for evil, or reviling, so that is them reviling us, we are not to revile in return. Actually, here's the one place where you might want to say something. Bless them. 1 Peter 3.16, so that when you are slandered, again from the mouth, this is going to be the most prominent way that we suffer for Christ. From the slandering and the verbal beatings that we receive from those who hate Christ and His people. So that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. See, there's a way to put the opposition to shame, is continue doing good works, continue to bless them. 1 Peter 4, 4, if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed. Verses like this, we're gonna need these in the future. I really think so. And so Carson comments on this. Peter's readers, of course, were suffering verbal abuse. And the temptation to retaliate in kind must have been overwhelming. I would think so. In fact, I know so. In some instances, the soundest advice is to keep silent, especially if the opponents are obsessed to take whatever you say and turn it against you. Now, this is not the silence of fear, resentment, or even resignation, but rather of courage. This is the silence of courage, compassion, confidence, and patient endurance. That's what Christ modeled for us. When we suffer injustice on account of being united with Jesus, we find ourselves in the perfect environment to cultivate the Christ-like characteristics of courage, compassion, confidence, and patient endurance. And in doing so, we radiate to the world what our Savior looks like. Now, Peter puts this very helpful little part in here. He did not threaten, the Lord did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. That's verse 22. As we deal with the situations of injustice that are brought toward us in this life because of our union with Christ, we are going to have a choice to make. And in this message, there's been a lot of talk about injustice. And as Christians, we can live with the knowledge that one day, the judge of all the earth will do right. That is exactly how the Lord Jesus lived His life. The judge of all the earth will do right. We don't need our justice right now. We don't. A day is coming, a final day is coming when all those who have slandered and maligned and despised God's people and despised the Lord Jesus Christ, there is coming a day when they will get their just rewards. And if it had not been for the Lord Jesus Christ, that day could have already been for us. And that is why we can just stay silent. That is why we can not retaliate with more reviling, but retaliate with good works. Retaliate with blessing. Because the Lord will have his vengeance, not us. Brothers and sisters, we can do this. We can do this because we have been given the Holy Spirit. We can do this because Jesus Christ went to the cross, he died, he went to the grave, and he rose again so that we could have his perfection, so that we could be given the Holy Spirit in order to do this. And that's why Peter says in verse 24, he bore our sins in his body on the tree that what? We might continue in our old ways? No. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, we have been healed. By his wounds, we have been changed so that we don't act like the Gentiles that we once were, but we act like the new and true Israel that Christ has made us. Both Isaiah and Peter knew that such grace that comes from the Lord Jesus in his gospel is, it transforms the receiver. It makes us new. I mean, just consider Peter's first response with Jesus in light of suffering, and then consider what he's calling us to now. There's a massive change in that. And that's a change that can happen in every one of our hearts. who are born again, who are given the spirit. I'm gonna close very soon, but this whole thing reminds me of a particular situation that I was in a number of years ago. I worked for one winter on the rigs. It was a very interesting experience. And there's a lot of really rough characters who go work on these rigs for days and weeks, and they never see their families. But in one particular situation, I was put into a situation where something kind of not right had gone on, and I was put in a situation to kind of share with the boss, the rig manager, what had happened. And I didn't really think it was a big deal, so I just kind of told him, this is what happened. You know, the guy, he took off, he went and took a nap in another guy's truck, and that's why we didn't see him all day, so that's why he wasn't at work, whatever, not a big deal, right? I didn't feel like I was ratting him out. I was just answering the question. And so that got out. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and for a week and a half, I suddenly had the rest of my co-workers down my throat because I had ratted this one guy out. I thought I was just telling the truth. I thought I was just, you know, being a good guy. And one day in particular, I was told, you need to shovel all the mud out of this hole. So I thought, okay. And I knew I was in the doghouse with the other guys, so I can do that. So I grab a shovel and I start shoveling. And as I shovel, three or four guys gather around me. And they're mocking me. And they're telling me how I'm not shoveling right. And they're cursing at me, and just trying to do anything that they can to get under my nerves. And I tell you, if the Lord had not saved me, that shovel would not have been going down, but maybe around and around. And the things that would have been coming out of my mouth, well, they would have sounded a lot like the things that were coming out of their mouth. And I remember standing there and just thinking, I've told these guys I'm a Christian. I just need to keep shoveling and keep shoveling and keep shoveling. And that's what I did. And by God's grace, a few days later, they laid off. But I would not have been able to do that if Christ had not borne my sins in his body on the tree. I wouldn't have been able to have that kind of response if by his wounds I was not healed and changed in my very disposition and how I responded. That's what the Christian life looks like. Peter sums this up and he reminds these Gentile believers where they were from. For you were like strange sheep. This is not how you once acted. You were like strange sheep. But now you have returned to the shepherd and the overseer of your souls. I'm just going to read one final comment from Carson because it's helpful. Jesus' suffering is in some ways unique, and it is, for it is atoning. We don't atone for anyone's sin when we suffer. Achieving our healing, our forgiveness, that's what Christ has done. That surely hints that appropriate response for us is thankfulness. And at that point, if we recall the exemplary character of His suffering, then one way in which we display our gratitude for the salvation that we have come to enjoy because of his suffering on our behalf is by displaying a similar refusal to retaliate and speak harshly when we ourselves are attacked. Brothers and sisters, I told you, this is incredibly practical for our lives. And it's something that we can take from here today, we can bring into next week, and the next week, and the next week, and by God's grace, our lives will shine into a very dark world who needs Christ. And that's what Peter alludes to in another place, that by our good, by our reactions, by our good works, the Gentiles would receive it in the day of visitation. How we live makes a huge difference. And so Peter calls us to these very difficult things, but not without the aid of the Spirit. That's what I have this morning, let's pray. Lord Jesus, you have truly shown us a way that is so opposite to what our sinfulness would want. And we really do need a fresh dose of your Spirit, Lord, because this isn't easy. These are not easy requests you have made of us, and yet in your grace, you have provided everything that we need to conform to your image. And so, Father, may those who are here this morning, those who attend and are members here of Grace Community, Would we humbly learn to live lives of submission? Father, grant us humility in every respect. So that, Lord, not that we would boast about how humble we are, but that you would receive multiple honors and glories for the incredible work that you've done in us. Lord, this is our humble request this morning. Change us and sanctify us for the sake of Christ. Amen. with this hymn called Blessed Assurance. Will you stand with me? We'll sing to our God. Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Lord, Lord, is the glory Thine! There is salvation where Thou shalt run. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, perfect divine. Legends of rapture told by sight. Angels descending free from our mind. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Earth is a mission, all is at rest I am my Saviour and happy and blest Washing and bathing, looking out loud Filled with His goodness, washed in His blood This is my story, this is my song. Praise be my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praise be my Savior all the day long. Well, as we go out from this place, What will our story be? How will it look like? Will we be praising our Savior all the day long? Will we be giving praise to Him in how we work and how we suffer? We pray that it will be so. And we know that our strength to do that doesn't come from ourselves. We need to look to the Shepherd of our souls, from whom we are once strayed, but now have returned, and continue close by His side. So in that thought, in looking to Jesus, you're dismissed. The Lord bless you and keep you. Amen. I actually found out that issue with the dual channels now, so it should be good. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Yeah, yeah. There you go. All right. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you very much. Yeah. Yeah. And we have very few people in the U.S. here, but we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we have a lot of people in the U.S. And we All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you very much. Oh my God. Thank you. Ow!