Difficulty with Authority | Tough Times | Twin Rivers Church

Peter writes to a group of believers who are in modern day Turkey and he starts to give them a theology on difficulty and I think that it's actually needed because there seems to be a quite a bit of misunderstanding about what it is like to follow Jesus. You know, the longer I'm around, the more that I recognize people kind of have this unset expectation that because Jesus is a better way that life gets better just because you follow Him. And obviously our spirits are renewed and that our souls begin to heal but there is a reality that there is hardship as we follow Christ. As a matter of fact, I love the way C.S. Lewis talks about it. He says, imagine that you're a living house, you're a house and that you invite Jesus to come and live in you. And he says that when he comes, he makes it clear to you that he would like to do some renovations and you're very, very welcoming to it because you realize there's some kind of clogged pipes and some leaky drains that need fixed. And he gets into it though and then all of the sudden your head starts to spin because you realize that the work he's doing is much more extensive than you expected. Hallways are being rerouted, walls are being torn down, parts of you that you thought would always be there are being demolished and then one day it dawns on you, he's not renovating you, he's rebuilding you completely. He's taking you from a meager dwelling to a palace built for a king. And out of that though, we never realized that when Jesus knocked on the door and we invited him in that behind him he had a wrecking ball. Well, I want to talk to you today from the second chapter 1 Peter about one of the wrecking balls that you're going to have to kind of wrestle to the ground. It's going to be a fun one. Today Peter takes us into this idea of difficulty that comes through ungodly authority. Let's read it together. First Peter 2-11, it says, "Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul. If such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see

your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." Now verse 13 is going to be one that you want to underline. It's going to be one you probably want to save on your phone. It's probably going to be one you even want to hang on the wall of your home. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority. I mean when we read these ancient words like immediately, our mind starts to rationalize. I mean immediately, you're like, "Well surely he doesn't mean submit to this supervisor that I have that has no sense." I mean immediately he does not mean to submit to the coach who plays favorites. I mean surely he does not mean let's submit to the teacher who never gives anyone a fair shot. No, no, no, there's no way he means submit to the in-laws who have unrealistic expectations. There's no way he means submit to a politician whose laws go against scripture. Well I did some study. And in the Greek every happens to mean the exact same thing as it does in the English version. Every authority submit. Now this is a pretty diverse crowd listening to me today and you know I mean we come from different backgrounds and different notes but there's one thing we can all get on the same page with, none of us enjoy submitting. I mean I think we can all get on the same page like immediately they're like submission is nauseating, irritating, but have you ever considered why we can be so divided in every other realm but we can be so unified under this? Well it's really because there's a deeper reality to this idea of submission. For example, you and I together we don't like submitting because frankly it's our DNA traces back to Adam and Eve, the original rebels. I mean God said you can have everything but this one thing and that one boundary created rebellion as they chose it. In addition to that we don't like submission because well we happen to be American. I mean we were born of rebellion and if you don't believe me just ask the Brits.

I mean we were born out of rebellion to the point that we actually when we see rebellion we kind of cheer it on. And then finally it's because it's our sin nature. You know, the Bible says that we are all like sheep who have gone astray. Another way of saying that is like sheep who want their own way. Now, ultimately here's the deal. What we tell ourselves is, is well, we only rebel against imperfect authority. But here's the truth. Our sin nature doesn't have a problem with imperfectity authority. It has a problem with authority. And I can prove it. Because of the limited lordship that you give Christ Jesus who is perfect in all his ways. He's completely perfect. And yet there are parts of him that you will not submit to because you want your own way. And this is why Peter uses this military term, this term submit. It's the idea of we are coming under a commanding officer. And what he's kind of leaning into is this, that you and I must remember that we are enlisted in heaven's army. And that God establishes all authority, even the ungodly authority that we see. And that it is our reality to look beyond the authority

we don't agree with to the authority we ultimately submit to. Let me say it this way. You serve at the pleasure of the commander of heaven's armies. And that our lives align under him because we recognize he establishes all authority. Now, if you're like me and I was studying this out, I mean, I just don't like anything about this. Like anything about this. And so, you know, you kind of go, well, not only is it hard to do this, I don't even want to do this. And that's ultimately because we don't really understand the power or significance that is under this idea of submission. We just not been taught enough about it. So let me give you some understanding is that if you're going to understand, especially the scriptures, you have to understand you're part of a kingdom and God is king. And because he's king, he's established laws. Now, there's a difference though in his laws and his principles. Principles are patterns of wisdom that work or prove true most of the time. Not all of the time, but most of the time. Laws on the other hand are absolute, they're fixed. They always have the same outcome. So the book of Proverbs, for example, is filled with a lot of wisdom. And the reality is those principles,

you should apply them to your life because most of the time they're going to turn for good. Not all the time, but most of the time. Well, laws in scripture though, they're transcended throughout all of scripture. They're not in one book. They are in every aspect of every story that you read or take in. And laws in scripture are kind of like the law of gravity. No one is an exception to it. It is absolute. Well, one of the laws that is clear in scripture is this, we'll call it the law of authority. And if I were to define the law of authority, here's what it is. It's that at some point you and I have to learn to please God under ungodly authority to advance in his plan for our lives. Let me say it again, 'cause that would be worth writing down. Come on, it's SoCo, Jeff Co., this is the one where, the law of authority throughout scripture says this, you have to learn to please God under ungodly authority to advance in his plan for your life. And just to give you kind of a quick run through scripture, Jacob had to learn to please God under Laban. That you see, Moses had to learn to please God under Pharaoh. David had to learn to please God under King Saul. Elijah had to learn to please God under Jezebel. Daniel had to learn to please God under Nebuchadnezzar.

Jesus had to learn to please God under Pilate. And Peter is writing to a group of believers who are under the rule of an evil emperor in the Roman Empire named Nero. And he's teaching them how to please God because as a caring pastor, here's what Peter's concerned about. That if you don't listen or you disregard this law, you miss something God wants to do in your life. He's ultimately saying, I'm writing this to you because I'm concerned that if you miss this law, you will miss success in the kingdom. And now listen, I know you showed up today and you were hoping today would be encouraging or faithful or inspiring. But can I just tell you this, there's no amount of inspiration that can counteract you pushing away one of God's laws. The reality is this submission is in the Bible and it's not something we can sweep away just because we don't like it. And my concern, just like Peter says, that you will miss out on something if you do not understand this reality, that there's a promotion, that there's an advancement, a connection, that there's favor, that there's supernatural advancement, but it comes through adhering to the law. As a matter of fact, let me say it this way, I'm concerned for some of you

that by disobeying authorities that are over you, you are disabling God's blessing over your life. That just because you don't like it doesn't mean you get to opt out of it. I know it's not popular, but it is part of God's plan. And so this is the reason we have to walk in what Peter talks about in this idea of submission. So chapter two is filled with really submission to some specific groups. And let me just tell you, if you've liked this message up to this point, it only gets better. Because we open with how to honor ungodly government. It was Christian Herder, who was the governor of Massachusetts, and he was visiting a local town and he found out that a little church was having a kind of a dinner. And so he stopped in and he got in line with his plate and he came down and someone gave him a single piece of chicken. And he asked for a second piece of chicken because he was hungry. And the lady who was serving the chicken said, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir, it's only one per person." Now, the governor considered himself a humble man, but he also was quite hungry and he said, "Ma'am, don't you know who I am? I'm the governor of Massachusetts." And she said, "Sir, don't you know who I am?

I'm the lady in charge of the chicken, keep moving." Now, in this moment, this lady, with the chicken feels like we've all felt, you've had enough government. We've had enough of your corruption, we've had enough of your frustration, we've had enough of your lack of getting things done. We've had enough of you playing with people's lives. And that's what makes it even more difficult when Peter writes that we should submit to all authority and then he goes to straight into it, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good, you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil. Live as God's slaves. Show proper respect to everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God and honor the emperor. Now, it's J.H. Eliot who kind of makes the sharp distinction and I think it's worth making that the Greek word that Peter uses for submission, it means to show respect to, it does not mean to give allegiance to. That there's a difference, let me say it this way. It means we show honor, but it's not the same word in the Greek as to give loyalty.

And so he is creating this dynamic where he's saying, as believers, we are to honor those in authority their position, but we are never to give our trust to the people who hold those positions. That is reserved for God. And I think that distinction may be why many people get swept up in elections and debates and politics in general is because somewhere along the way what they did not recognize is they stopped honoring the position and they gave a person their allegiance that belongs only to God. And so as believers, here's what we're called to do. Honor the position regardless of what we think of it, how much we agree with it. We honor the fact that it exists, but we never give our hearts to anything more than to Christ. Now, let me just say that this is why he opens the entire kind of passage on submission with a word. He calls us foreigners. And when we talk about this several weeks, foreigners, exiles, what he's remaining is, is he's going, hey, do not forget, and this is such an important distinction, especially here, do not forget you are a resident of this country, but you are a citizen of heaven. And that's what allows you to honor the emperor, but not give allegiance to anybody but God. Is the fact that you were a foreigner, this church even today, this is an embassy, that we have come together because our citizenship is in heaven, but yet we still have to honor the emperor on earth.

So how do we do that? Well, there's so much to be said, but let me just tell you, there's two ways that I think you live in submission to government. I wanna clarify them because I think we get our own ideas in this, especially in the fact that we're in a democracy and that doesn't appear in scripture. Well, first, it means that you're informed, okay? It means that you and I take time to understand. We don't just share anything and everything that people post. We don't just read the headline and never get into the depths of what the actual issue is. We're informed, and here's why, because we are called to think critically and scripturally. And the problem is for most of us, we just get swept up emotionally. So let me just ask you this. Who will be the one who takes the issues of our day and the mind of Christ and reconciles them if it's not us? I can assure you that these interest groups are not gonna do it. There's not a lobbyist who's saying, "Hey, that's not scriptural." No, at some point the church, as believers, we have to critically think about the issue, understand it more than just kind of an algorithm feeds us, and we have to understand the scriptures enough

to bring the two together. And the thing that I get concerned about is for many of us in the church, we're swept away emotionally, but we don't think critically, and we're far from what the scriptures say. So one of the things that we're required is to be informed. And then the second thing that's required is out of that, we get involved. Come on, you need to vote, it's a privilege. You need to write your congressman on your representatives when you see something you don't like. You could run for school board, you could run for an office and bring a godliness to it. Now, let me say from many of you, that's maybe not God's plan for your life, but there is this question, especially when the idea of submission comes up, but what about civil disobedience? What about standing in the way? What about, obviously, our laws of this land give us space to do that. But a lot of times what people do is outside of an organized demonstration, what they mean is this to oppose it at the very core to stop participating in it. Well, then, you know, a lot of times, Christians will cite people like, you know, Corey Tenboom who hid Jewish people in her basement

and lied to Nazi SS officers, or though reference Martin Luther King Jr. who obviously stood and was imprisoned at times for standing in civil disobedience. But can we just say this? What we're talking about for most of us is not really that. I mean, I mean, nobody in this room is probably harboring Jews from the Nazis. No, no one here is sitting on the back of a bus because there's an ungodly law towards a race. No, no, no, no. Peter gave space for civil disobedience. As a matter of fact, Peter lost his life for civil disobedience. He was crucified upside down because he refused to preach, refused to stop preaching the gospel. Okay, now let me say this. What this means is we are a good Christian until we cannot be within the system that we have been placed into. But can we be clear? Not paying your taxes. This is not civil disobedience. That's just dishonesty. I knew that'd be popular. (audience laughs) This is what Peter's all to be saying is that you are a good citizen 'til being a good citizen stops you

from being a good Christian. And that's the line. Now, actually the most convicting part of this to me is verse 17 when he says to fear God and honor the emperor, it doesn't say agree with the emperor. He doesn't say to give, you know, complete allegiance to the emperor. He says honor him. And I thought, you know, how does that most displayed, what's actually not most displayed in a voter booth, the level of honor that you give to those who are in authority governmentally is most displayed in your conversations and in comment sections you participate in. And you know what I was thinking about? Do we believe as a church, what the scriptures say when they say that life and death is in the power of the tongue? Do we believe that? Do we believe that you can bless and curse with your tongue? Then why do we curse our nation and our leaders? Why do we curse them and expect God to bless us through them? See, at some point we have to recognize that our tongue does have power enough and that if we want to experience blessing we can't continually speak cursing. We fear God and his laws of our tongue and we honor the emperor. Now Peter says this in verse, he kinda in the middle of it, he says, we're doing all of this to silence ignorant talk.

Now I found this interesting. There was a rumor in the first century among Romans that Christians were cannibals, okay? Because all they heard is when they gather they eat flesh and drink blood, okay? Now many of you get this, but let me say if this is your first Sunday here we don't do that, okay? Wait, we don't do that. We do though take communion is representative of the blood of Jesus as participating in his crucifixion." So they were hearing this and thinking, "These people are crazy." And they also thought they were anti-government and that they were hateful because they would not worship idols. And so here's Peter's response. He says, "Here's what we're going to do. We are going to do so much good. It will silence them." We're going to do so much good. And let me just say that is something the church began with. In the first century, guess who adopted the discarded baby girls, Christians? Guess who fed the people who were left for dead by the side of the road due to sickness, disease and plague, Christians? Guess who served the prisoners when government had no intent to feed them or keep them Christians? Well, guess what continues on today? If you trace back through America, every single hospital system, almost all of them start with Christianity. Every university setting nearly starts with Christianity. The abolitionist movement started in the church. The civil rights movement started in the black church.

And this continues today. Did you know 65% of foster parents in America today are active Christians? Did you know that a Christian that's active in their local church is twice as likely to adopt than any other people group in America today? Did you know that it's three times more likely that a donation is made to a charitable organization? It's by an active Christian. Did you know that if someone serves at a volunteering event for a community building, it's twice as likely that it's a Christian. 75% of the organizations that help FEMA rebuild after natural disasters are faith-based organizations. Listen, that's what we're doing is overwhelming with our good. But can I just say this? I get fearful that we're letting back. Let me say it this way. We have to commit as individuals that we're going to be more focused on doing good than griping, that we're going to focus on silencing foolish talk about what the Christian world is instead of fighting with people in comment sections about it, that we're going to be more focused and let our actions speak louder than our anger online. And that is how you live as a citizen of heaven, as a resident of a country. Now here's the second one he covers is he then goes in to respecting ungodly employers. You can see the word servant slave, let me just say this, in the Greek he's not talking about an unskilled labor. He's talking about very skilled people. I mean we're talking about teachers and physicians and lawyers and engineers. And what he's ultimately saying is this, regardless of the type of boss you have, you and I should exceed their expectation. So we've obviously got five kids. We've been to Disney more than Mickey himself has been to Disney, okay? And when we go there, it's incredible how much respect I'm given. I mean it's unbelievable. I mean if you, you know, like they help you in, they'll point you the way, they'll take

you. I've had them take me to the front of the line. I've had them take me and answer my questions. I've had them give me the, it's amazing how much respect I'm giving at Disney. But let's be clear, they're not doing it because they're good natured. They are doing it because I have dropped a boatload of money in this place, a boatload of money, okay? Peter is introducing a different concept. He's saying I want you to give the Disney treatment, but not an exchange for what you get, but as it's given as unto Christ. That's what he's introducing here with this idea of how we treat our employers. Now there's a lot of debate about how that could be done. I can tell you two things that absolutely 100% will always and should mark the life of a believer despite them being in a terrible workplace. Number one is integrity. Should all, there's never an excuse for you to go back on your word. There's never an excuse for you to be one person in one room and another person in another room. You show up on time or you show up at all. You do what you say you're going to do, you see it through. When people come to you, they should know gossip stops here, politicking stops here, backstabbing stops here. I don't participate in that because I'm here as representing Christ. I also tell you this, every believer. Like that your contribution is not based on how great the culture is, that you're not just showing up to get a paycheck, you're there to be the absolute best at what believer you're going to be these two things. Now I love this that Peter writes here and he says here's our motivation in verse 21. He says, "For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering. Just as Christ suffered for you, he is your, every campus, help me with this word, example

as you must follow in his steps." This word example is incredibly rare and it's the picture of a copy book. Now let me, you probably had kids like I did that had this, when they were learning their letters there was this piece of paper that had like a faint outline of a letter and you would trace over that letter to learn how to write that letter. Did your kids do that? My kids have all done that, that you would trace over it. That's the idea of a copy book. He says, "Your life is tracing over this faint outline of Christ. It's leaving an image, not of you, but of Christ." So let me ask you this, based on how you work. What outline or image are people looking at? You? Or Christ? Let me ask you this, what are you tracing? Are you tracing Christ or a podcaster? Are you tracing Christ or a success coach? Are you tracing Christ or workplace culture? What image are you following in the way that you are living? And listen, I want you to be successful, but I want to ask you this. Are you successful if people see you and never see Christ? And I was actually praying for you this week and I felt like the Holy Spirit spoke this. Some of you have a real sense of frustration when you come to your workplace and it may even have been multiple workplaces like you haven't been able to escape it. And it's because your only metric for success is advancement and accumulating more. Like, if you're not advancing and you're not hitting new highs, you just, you feel unfulfilled. And I just tell you this, just as living a little bit of life, every season is not a record breaker. Every turn is not a record.

There's so many things that go into have a record-breaking season, into advancing. You can do a great job in it, not be seen. And I would even say spiritually following Christ, there's going to be times when you deserve advancement and you're not going to receive it because it's part of the character development. So listen to me, listen to me, you need to broaden your definition of success. And just advancement and accumulating more, it needs to also include sharing Christ. Because I'm just wondering if there will be a place that you don't get the promotion, but it was worth it because you reached another person for Christ. That's what he's saying. Sometimes God places us in places that do not recognize the gift he's put in us, but it's because we're there to show the image of Christ. And that's how you live in ungodly employers. And then he does this thing where he says, "I know this has not been fun. I know this is not enjoyable. I know that you're listening to Pastor Joe and it sounds like a library in here. I know that." And he says, "But I want you to know there's an unexpected blessing for this." And I'll show it to you. Peter 2, 19, for this, what, all the submission he's been talking about, finds favor. If a person endures the sorrow of suffering unjustly because of an awareness of the will of God, after all, what kind of credit it is there if when you do wrong and are punished for it, you endure it patiently. But if when you do what is right and patiently bear undeserved suffering, this finds favor with God. Now Peter's saying, "Hey, living under this Roman government, living under ungodly supervision, working for people like this, it's not enjoyable." He says, "There is an unexpected blessing that submission brings into your life." And Peter's not just saying this as like the hopeful platitude, he's actually seen it. Okay.

Little history, remember Peter was one of Jesus' disciples, that Peter saw Jesus, talked with Jesus, lived with Jesus for three years, and that part of what he saw was Jesus arrested and ultimately Peter saw the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Well, not only did he see it, but you may not know this, but most of Mark's gospel, which chronicles it, is based on the testimony of Peter. So most of what Mark wrote was based on what years later he heard Peter tell him as a first person account. Okay, in Mark's gospel, there is an account at the crucifixion of Jesus of a man named Simon. And I'm gonna read it to you, Mark 1521. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way from the country, and they, that's the Roman guards, forced him to carry the cross of Jesus Christ. So Simon likely is in town because of the Passover festival, and the Bible tells us he's just trying to get out of town. He sees that there's an execution about to happen. He's got two sons with him, Alexander and Rufus. He's probably gotten them by the hand. He's working against a crowd that's moving outside the city. There comes these three people who are carrying their crosses, the first one being Jesus Christ, and a Roman guard grabs him and sees Jesus collapsing and forces him. He doesn't volunteer. He doesn't want to do this. He did not get up this day and say, you know what I like to do today is help murder somebody. Instead, he is forced by a, and if he's anything

like the people who lived in Judea at this time, he's so sick of the violence of the Roman government. He's so tired of their abusing and their constant putting down of the local people, but yet he's forced to submit and help carry the cross of Christ. And it brings quite an unexpected blessing. First, consider this, Simon has an appreciation for the suffering of Christ like no other. Everyone else is a spectator on this day. He's a participator. He feels the weight of the being. He hears the labored breathing and he notices the tension inside for being required to carry a cross for a crime he did not commit. In this moment, he is innocent, yet he is participating in an execution, just like Jesus. Listen, when you are treated unjustly, but you forgive again, and when you are mistreated, but you go the second mile anyways, you are gaining a deeper appreciation for what Jesus went through when he was crucified on the cross. But not only that, there's an intimacy that comes from it. Simon is so close to the Lord Jesus and it's been such a brutal process,

there is no way that once he got him to the place where they could raise him on the tree, there's no way there wasn't blood that remained on his clothing. And as he walks home and considers what the crowds are saying about this man, that he's innocent, that he's potentially the Messiah, and he looks at the blood that is likely on his robes, I believe there is no way that Simon of Cyrene goes home the same man that he came to the Passover that weekend. Seasons of comfort just do not allow us to understand the depths of God's love for us like seasons of hardship. Let me say it this way. Seasons of comfort, let us see the cross as something historical that happened. Seasons of hardship make it real to us, and understanding it is something that Christ shared in. Jesus dying on a cross doesn't seem all that real to your dying under unjust rule just like he did. And the pain that you feel and the frustration and the it's not fair is all so real, but it gets, it enriches, it gives a deeper understanding that he is with us, as Paul called it, the fellowship of his sufferings, but that also there's an intimacy that comes with Christ.

You show me someone who's been through difficulty, I'll show you someone who's experienced grace in a greater measure. We come out of these difficulties in a deeper intimacy, and that is the unexpected blessing of submitting to ungodly authority. Now the challenge is this, can you wait long enough - Can you endure long enough to experience it? 'Cause some of you are sitting here right now and you're gonna posture, "Yo, I just, I don't even see God." Like he's nowhere to be found. - Well, there's a philosopher who said it this way. He said, "Imagine that you're camping in the desert "and they're in your tent, and we say to you, "is there a camel in your tent?" And you walk over and open the flap and you look in and you clearly see there's no camel in your tent. And then he says, "But then you're asked, "are there no see-ums in your tent?" Of course, first of all, you'd say, "What's a no-see-um?" It's the word for a sand fly that has a very irritating bite but it's very hard to see, and that's why they're called no-see-ums. You pull back the same flap, you look in, you do not see 'em. So you say, "There are no see-ums." You go to bed that night, you wake up the next morning, covered in welps. Turns out, there were see-ums. This is the point.

The presence of the see-um was always there, you just couldn't see it until you spent enough time with it. And for many of you, you're looking at the place you work and it's so ungodly, you're looking at the state of our country or the state of the community, you're going to so ungodly, God's nowhere near this! That's because you're expecting him to act the way you think he should act. But God doesn't act the way you think he should act. He acts in the way that is good and according to his purposes. And often, in the same way you don't recognize you are with a see-um until you see the bite, you don't recognize God's work until you see the blessing. Listen to me, he's present, he's just, he's going to reward you. You just have to stay long enough to see the evidence of those things.