SUBMITTING TO GOD: PLEASING OUR FATHER

Ultimate Submission It is written: "‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’“ –Ro 14:11

Submitting is NOT The American Way We want to be in control On top In charge Have things “our way”

Submit to God James 4:7 says “Submit to God…” Stop quarrelling and fighting Our Goal: Submit to God in a way that “Pleases our Father”

Two Examples Two Examples Duty and bitterness? Love and desire to please?

Our Relationship to God Creation / Redemption story In the beginning, God ‘CREATED”… –Ge 1:1

His Plan to Reconcile/Redeem His instructions to the Jewish nation –Deut 6:4-5 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

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Plan to Redeem Fulfilled in Jesus John 3:16 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life….”

Plan to Redeem Fulfilled in Jesus Ro 5:6-10 6“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Plan to Redeem Fulfilled in Jesus Ro 5:6-10 7Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 8 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

How Do We Respond? When we completely understand this truth … –Loving Submission –Asking what God/Jesus expects

What Did Jesus Say? –Mt 22:37 Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind & strength!

Why? We see and believe what we’ve just talked about. –1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us!

Jesus said –John 14:15 If you love me you will “please me” obey my commandments.

Just “Doing” NOT OK 1 Co 13: 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Do all the right things – without love it is nothing

What Does Submitting to God Mean? Doing what he wants us to do out of love for who he is and what he has done for us!... ”Pleasing Him.”

Obeying His Commands Involves a lot of things… –”bearing each others burdens, –teaching / encouraging one another, –helping all who are in need, especially our brothers and sisters, –taking the Good News to the lost… –Praising/Worshipping our Father.

Example – VBS All of these things were taking place before/during/after VBS…. –Every facet of our congregation was involved, from the oldest to the youngest… from the most ‘traditional’ to the most ‘contemporary’… –and it was GOOD!

Change and Opinions Is our church just like a 1 st century church? Some things that have changed… –buildings –songs and style of singing –Multiple communion cups –Sunday Schools, etc.

Change and Opinions Worship content Expression of worship

Unity / Liberty / Love Perhaps you have heard the saying, “In matters of faith, Unity. In matters of opinion, Liberty. In all things, Love.”

Unity in Faith Eph 4:12-13 …. –12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up –13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Liberty in Opinion Ro 14:5-6 … 5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Love in All Things Col 3:14… And over all these virtues put love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

And finally… What will our congregation look like when we are all ‘submitting to God’ with loving hearts?

John 14:15-17 “ If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.”

Galatians 5:22-23 “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”