1 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,200 Thank you for listening to Riverbend Church's podcast. 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,560 To find out more about this message or Riverbend Church, 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,920 connect with us online at Riverbend Church dot live. 4 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,280 If you call Riverbend home, you know that we are kind of on the 5 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,880 tail end of a season called 21 Days of Prayer and fasting. 6 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,200 Officially that gets over. That ends tomorrow night, 7 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:37,520 Saturday at at 6:00. And I've already been asked. 8 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,320 The question is for those that are meeting on Friday night, 9 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,280 does that mean that the 21 days of prayer fast ends tonight? 10 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:52,960 Here's how I prayed about it. I prayed about it and here's the 11 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,000 answer That's between you and Jesus. 12 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,760 All right, So if you feel guilty for eating ice cream tonight 13 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:06,240 before tomorrow at 6:00, that's between you and Jesus Sunday 14 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,120 morning. If you're tuning in with us, I 15 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:12,800 know that you have, I know that you have faithfully kind of 16 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,400 navigated that 21 days of prayer and fasting. 17 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,120 And, and if you're new to riverbed, you may, you may be 18 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,160 asking what in the world is, is the 21 days of prayer and 19 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,760 fasting all about? It's really where we take a 20 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,680 segment of time. We really start off the year. 21 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:32,680 We want to start off 2026 fully devoted to our relationship with 22 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,240 God. And, and what that means is, is 23 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,320 we not only want to spend a lot of intentional time praying to 24 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:43,480 God and talking with God, but we also want to remove things that 25 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,800 numb us, dumb us and distract us from our relationship with God. 26 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,320 So for for for some in our church, you have fasted from 27 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,720 food completely for a set amount of of time. 28 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,920 For others, you, you fasted from a meal and instead of if it was 29 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:04,120 lunch, instead of eating lunch, you spend your lunch break kind 30 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,039 of diving into the word of God, reading scripture and and 31 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:11,120 praying. For others, it may be a social 32 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,440 media fast where you recognize that there are certain times you 33 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,240 almost have this kind of like daily rhythm to where there's 34 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,320 certain times that you find yourself just scrolling on 35 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,880 social media. So over these 21 days, you've 36 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,160 chosen to set social media to the side and keep that time 37 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,760 earmarked in your day to instead of scrolling, you spend time 38 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,240 talking with God in prayer and journaling and and diving into 39 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,000 his word. For others, it's a it's a set 40 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,040 food or food group. I know that I announced last 41 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,360 week that I have been fasting from kale. 42 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,200 I will continue that fast. I just want to go on record. 43 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,520 I'm going to continue that fast on throughout 2026 and a really 44 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,320 good chance on into 2027 as well. 45 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,480 But we have seen God do some awesome things, haven't we? 46 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,640 You know, it is not an accident and it's certainly not a 47 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:10,160 coincidence that here celebration Sunday or 48 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,520 celebration Friday night, we're able to celebrate the new life 49 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:19,720 and the Holy Spirit movement in the life of of Amanda and, and 50 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:21,480 Mike. And one of the things that we 51 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,600 always know is when the Holy Spirit moves in a life, it's 52 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,120 never contained just to that life right there. 53 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,720 There's, there's a, there's a radiating effect, there's a 54 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:31,240 ripple effect. There's, there's, there's a 55 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,360 domino effect to where when the Holy Spirit moves in a life, 56 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,640 then he begins to move in the lives of those that are close to 57 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,400 those lives. So we're not only proud of, but 58 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,920 we're excited for just this movement of the Holy Spirit and 59 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,600 Amanda and Mike and, and many, many others. 60 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,200 And if you've been with us over the last several weeks, we've 61 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:54,240 been able to share some stories through video of, of how God has 62 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:57,920 answered prayers through previous 21 days of prayer and 63 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,560 fasting seasons. And I can't wait to hear some of 64 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,720 the stories that you have to share about how he, he's 65 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,720 answering those prayers. Or maybe for you, it's you 66 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,880 haven't necessarily see God answer a prayer over these 21 67 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:11,680 days. Maybe for you it's just been 68 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,640 more of a, a time of planting seeds, planting spiritual seeds. 69 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,760 And here's what I would tell you is if you haven't seen God 70 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,800 answer a specific prayer that you have been praying over these 71 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,320 21 days, don't get discouraged. Don't get discouraged at all 72 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,600 because we're not working on our timeline. 73 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,640 We're working on God's timeline. He's working on his timeline and 74 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:38,480 this time of planting spiritual seeds through prayer and getting 75 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,880 to know Him and experiencing more in his Word is absolutely 76 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,040 invaluable. So can't wait to see everything 77 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,040 that God is going to be doing out of this past season. 78 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,320 If you're new to Riverbend, we haven't had the chance to meet 79 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:53,320 yet. My name is Ben. 80 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:55,760 Get to serve as the lead pastor here. 81 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,680 We're so glad that you chose to be with us and you have come. 82 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,600 We're in week five of a series called Live Well, Live Well. 83 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,160 Let me kind of, if you're new to Riverbend, new to the series, 84 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,280 let me kind of give you the overall main truth or what we 85 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:14,240 call the big idea of this series. 86 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,240 And this will kind of get you in the right framework, put you on 87 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,480 the right tracks to be able to travel with us and journey with 88 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,960 us as we go through this. Passage tonight and our time. 89 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:26,920 Together, here it is. If you're taking notes with this 90 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:31,160 is the big idea to live well is to live God's way, firm in 91 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,440 faith, steady in trials, and anchored in hope. 92 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:40,600 To live well is to live God's way and how God defines it is 93 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,320 we're going to be firm in our faith, steady in trials and and 94 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,960 anchored in hope. And I think here's the thing 95 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,480 about like a new year, whenever that calendar flips from 2025 to 96 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,800 2026, you know, if we call them intentions or we call them new 97 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,960 habits or resolutions, typically all of those can be encompassed 98 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,600 with the phrase of hey, I just want to experience, I want to 99 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,160 live well. I think every single one of us 100 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,480 in the room or online, every single one of us, we want to 101 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:16,320 live well. Here's the problem with that is 102 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,400 life. Life with its complications and 103 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:24,840 its complexities, with its with its heart breaks, with its 104 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:27,640 hardships, with its ups and it's downs. 105 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:29,920 Life doesn't always make it that easy, right? 106 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,560 Life doesn't always make it easy for us to to live well. 107 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,560 That's why you and I, we have to have God's definition. 108 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,160 Because here's where I will tell you, just because you have or 109 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,600 may be facing hardships, just because you have or may be 110 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,720 facing heartbreak, just because you're going through some ups 111 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,480 and downs, or just because you've encountered some 112 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:57,040 complications and complexities of life, it doesn't mean that 113 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,280 you can't live well. I think that in order for us to 114 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:04,160 live well, however, we've got to get on board and we've got to 115 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,720 adopt God's definition of what it means for us to live well. 116 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:10,680 Living well is not the absence of problems. 117 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,800 It's not the absence of storms. It's being able to successfully 118 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,520 navigate those problems and grow through those storms. 119 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,360 And that can only happen with our connection with God, with a, 120 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,200 with a personal relationship with him. 121 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaking of complexities, does anybody else with us? 122 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:36,160 You may be in the room or or online anybody else struggling 123 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:44,000 with how to navigate the current political climate, you may say. 124 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:45,720 Oh, we just jumped in the deep end, didn't we? 125 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:49,280 Anybody like struggling with that? 126 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:55,720 I mean, not to like set off triggers, but anybody struggle 127 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,400 with how as a follower of Jesus, we, we, we, we're to, we're 128 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:03,840 called to navigate to, to think about, to maybe engage or not 129 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:09,480 engage with things like Venezuela or Greenland. 130 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:16,560 Maybe last week you kind of tuned into the, the happenings 131 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,720 in Davos with the World Economic Forum and the, and the shifting 132 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:26,760 global alliances. What about the, the sky high 133 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:32,799 tensions in, in Minneapolis, the death of Alex Peretti, Somali 134 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:38,159 daycares, ICE, immigration, government policies. 135 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:45,640 That's already on top of I, I believe already a super, super 136 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:50,560 tense and polarized political environment within our country. 137 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,040 It it seems that nobody's neutral politically, right? 138 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,160 It seems like there there's not much of A middle. 139 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:02,280 You're either like 1000% for or 1000% against. 140 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:06,480 And as a follower of Jesus, anybody, anybody's just kind of 141 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:11,760 sit back and go, hey, how am I called to navigate this? 142 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:15,680 Like where do I get the answer to that? 143 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,880 I'll I'll tell you this. Thank God that the answer to 144 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,320 that question is not found on Facebook. 145 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,160 It's not found on social media, reels, cable news, or our 146 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:31,600 favorite podcaster. The answer to that question is 147 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,120 found in the same place that that the answers to all of our 148 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,040 questions are found in. And that's in that's in God's 149 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:40,760 Word. And if you've been with us over 150 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,200 these past several weeks, you know that we've been kind of 151 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,600 diving into and walking through a small book towards the end of 152 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,080 your Bible called First Peter. And we're going to do the same 153 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,680 in our time together this evening. 154 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,520 And it I want to invite you to find if you have a Bible with 155 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,160 you, if it's a physical copy, awesome. 156 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,760 If it's a digital copy, awesome. I want you to find First Peter 157 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:08,880 Chapter 2, chapter 2 with us and we're going to be picking it up 158 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,240 in verse 13. If you don't have a Bible with 159 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,000 you, then no worries. The the passage is actually 160 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,760 printed at the top of your note sheet that you received on your 161 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,680 way in and it's going to be on the screen for me. 162 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:24,800 I I just full transparency, I just, I just think there's just 163 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,840 something powerful and there's just something special and 164 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,720 there's just something that that is extra connective when I'm 165 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:37,520 able to read God's word kind of like on my own and in my and my 166 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,880 own Bible. But that's just that's just me. 167 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:45,720 I want to I want to show you I want to show you how Peter 168 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:50,200 through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit really calls us to 169 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:55,720 be able to navigate what is our posture as followers of Jesus. 170 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:59,640 What is our posture to be towards authority, towards 171 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,400 government, towards navigating all of this and is found 172 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,400 starting off first Peter chapter 2 in verse 13. 173 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:13,080 Peter writes this Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human 174 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:17,680 institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to 175 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:24,320 governors sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise 176 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,800 those who do good. For this is the will of God, 177 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,800 that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of 178 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,720 foolish people. Live as people who are free, not 179 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,560 using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants 180 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:40,040 of God. Honor everyone. 181 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:42,520 Love the brotherhood. Fear, God. 182 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:44,880 Honor. The Emperor. 183 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:46,360 So here's what we're going to do. 184 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,840 We're going to take this passage and kind of divide it in half. 185 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:54,120 And what I want to do in the, in the first half is I want us to 186 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,280 look at what is the overall essence of authority, because I 187 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,520 want you to see that God's word never tells us that authority 188 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,760 is, is bad. As a matter of fact, as a matter 189 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:09,240 of fact, authority is not bad. Authority is given to us by God. 190 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:13,560 And before we dive into kind of the four basic understandings, 191 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:17,040 the, the essential understandings of authority, you 192 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,320 and I, we have to be very clear on a central fact. 193 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:24,600 And if you're taking notes with us here, it is you and I, every 194 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,040 single one of us. We exist up underneath, up 195 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:31,200 underneath. 2 layers of authority, 2 layers of 196 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,040 authority. Heavenly. 197 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:36,960 And earthly. Heavenly and earthly, our 198 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:41,360 heavenly authority is God. He is our ultimate authority. 199 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:46,600 No one is higher than God. No one's word matters more than 200 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,920 God. He is our ultimate authority. 201 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,920 But then we also, every single one of us in this room. 202 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:59,880 You're young, you're old, you're in between, you're you're new to 203 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:02,800 church. Maybe you grew up in church. 204 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:07,800 Every single one of us, we all live up underneath earthly 205 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,640 authority. You see you, you may be a you 206 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,200 may be a student that still lives at at home and your 207 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,200 earthly authority or or or or your parents or or your family. 208 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,000 You may be in the in the full time workforce and your earthly 209 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:29,880 authority is is your supervisor or or your bosses as citizens, 210 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,080 as citizens of of the United States of America. 211 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:37,760 Our earthly authority is is government figures and and 212 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,840 government agencies. We all live under earthly 213 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,800 authority, but that's not the only authority. 214 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:49,200 We all live up underneath 2 layers of authority, earthly and 215 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,320 heavenly. So with that in mind, I wanted 216 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,840 us to look at how the 2 are actually intertwined, how the 217 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,800 two layers of authority for every single one of us, they're 218 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,240 intricately intertwined. Here's the first one for taking 219 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,600 notes with us. God establishes every authority. 220 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:12,520 God establishes every authority, the earthly authority that you 221 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:17,760 and I, that we live up under, that has been established by 222 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,960 God, that's been established by God. 223 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,960 If you're if you're new to church, I want to give you a 224 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,000 statement that you may not have known. 225 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,120 Did you know that when Jesus, who's the Son of God himself, 226 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:35,960 when Jesus came into this world and walked this earth, did you 227 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,800 know that Jesus lived up underneath human authority? 228 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:45,120 Historically, in Jesus's day, that region of the world and 229 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,360 that culture, they were, they were conquered and they were 230 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,200 ruled over by the Roman Empire. And if you know anything about 231 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,920 history and the Roman Empire, you know that the people that 232 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,240 they conquered and ruled over, they absolutely hated their 233 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:02,280 Roman overlords. So much so that you remember how 234 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,600 Jesus called 12 Guys to follow him. 235 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,800 And these these 12 disciples or, or or apostles, they became 236 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:14,240 Jesus closest friends and, and he poured into them for three, 3 237 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,800 1/2 years. And then after Jesus died and 238 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,720 resurrected from the dead and ascended back to heaven, it was 239 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,880 these 12 guys that took the gospel all over the known world. 240 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,480 One of those 12 guys is a guy by the name of Simon. 241 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,880 And the Bible doesn't tell us a whole lot about Simon, but this 242 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,320 is what the Bible does tell us. Simon was a part of a group 243 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,280 called the Zealots. The Zealots, if you're, if 244 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,080 you're not familiar with who the Zealots were, they were an anti 245 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:44,480 government faction in ancient Judea that would regularly plot, 246 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:49,720 plan and execute assassinations against Roman government 247 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:52,320 officials and Roman soldiers. And guess what? 248 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:56,320 They were good at it. So they were an anti government 249 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,880 group. We, we would call them today in 250 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:03,560 our in our 2026 vernacular, they were domestic terrorists. 251 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,320 Simon was a part of a domestic terrorist group. 252 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,960 That's how hated the Romans were. 253 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,160 Also, don't forget that. Remember when Jesus, right 254 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,480 before he's he's crucified, remember who he's standing in 255 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:21,920 front of? A guy by the name of Pontius 256 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,640 Pilate who was a governor appointed by Caesar himself. 257 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,560 He was a Roman governor. And when, when he's when he's 258 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,320 questioning Jesus, I love this exchange between Jesus and 259 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,440 Pilate. To where Jesus looks at Pilate, 260 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:40,320 he goes, hey, you wouldn't have authority unless it was given to 261 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,280 you by my father. In other words, right there in 262 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:47,960 that statement, Jesus is saying, hey, I see your position and my 263 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,840 father put you there, but you wouldn't be. 264 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,320 Anywhere, if it wasn't for my Heavenly Father. 265 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:56,560 Right there in that statement, at that small exchange, that 266 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:01,240 brief exchange between Pontius Pilate and Jesus, Jesus is 267 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,319 acknowledging those two layers of authority, that heavenly 268 00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:05,960 authority and that earthly authority. 269 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:10,839 And it was Pontius Pilate that that gave the go ahead for the 270 00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:14,960 Jews to crucify and to murder Jesus on a cross. 271 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:19,680 Think about this for a moment. God was intentional about 272 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:25,000 establishing the earthly authority over His own Son that 273 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,800 would lead to His own Son's execution. 274 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,960 And if God was so intentional about that, never forget and 275 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,360 never think that the authority that He has placed over your 276 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:39,880 life and my life is accidental or coincidental. 277 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,320 It is not the authority that He places over us. 278 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:51,880 Our earthly authority that He places over us He uses to bring 279 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:59,200 about His purposes for us. So God establishes every earthly 280 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,360 authority. God is not shocked by. 281 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:05,520 Election returns God is not shocked by. 282 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,880 Political movements at all. God ultimately establishes every 283 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,400 authority. That's true in your home, that's 284 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,600 true in your workplace, that's true in your nation and in your 285 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,680 state and your county and your city. 286 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:26,000 God establishes every authority. But with that in mind, I think 287 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:27,640 that we. Have to be very clear on this 288 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,480 second understanding about authority. 289 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,880 God is flawless. People are fallen. 290 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,760 God is flawless. That means that at all points 291 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:43,760 and times, God is right, God is true, and God is good. 292 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,560 Humans, we are fallen. The Bible is very, very clear 293 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:53,200 that all have sinned and fall well short of the perfect 294 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,880 standard of God. So what do you think happens 295 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,280 when you have a collection of fallen men and fallen women 296 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,880 coming together to making decisions and policies? 297 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,440 You're going to have some mistakes that happen, right? 298 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:15,520 You have in marriage, you have a fallen man and a fallen woman 299 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,360 coming together in marriage and they have kids and you still 300 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:24,520 have a fallen man and a fallen woman that are parenting now a 301 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:29,120 fallen child in in the workplace, your supervisors and 302 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:33,800 your managers, no matter how gracious or generous or merciful 303 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,400 or even well liked they may be, they're still fallen. 304 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,480 And that means that they will always, they will always, at 305 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,720 some point in time, they will let us down because they're not 306 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,680 flawless, They're human. They're fallen government. 307 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,880 Same way there is no such thing as a perfect government system 308 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:55,640 the moment. That we plug people into any 309 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,720 system. It becomes flawed. 310 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,800 It becomes flawed. God is flawless. 311 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,680 People are fallen. And yet, with that in mind, 312 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,360 check out what Peter tells us to do with that. 313 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:14,800 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution. 314 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:20,000 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every fallen human 315 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,560 institution, whether it be the emperor as supreme or to 316 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:27,080 governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to 317 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:31,280 praise those who do good. So what does that tell us about 318 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,840 the essential basics of authority if you're taking notes 319 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,880 with us #3 is what Peter's trying to convey to us. 320 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,320 I honor God by honoring authority. 321 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,520 I honor God by honoring authority. 322 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:52,400 You see, there is an intrinsic, inseparable link in tie between 323 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,560 me honoring my earthly authority and me honoring my heavenly 324 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,800 authority. The closer I am to my heavenly 325 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:04,320 authority, the closer that I will be obedient to His way, His 326 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:08,360 will, and His words. And he's very clear in His words 327 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:13,920 that in His word that I am to honor my earthly authority. 328 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,240 I honor God by honoring my earthly authority. 329 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,360 I wrote it like this. I think that there are two 330 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:26,920 things when it comes to honoring authority that we struggle with. 331 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:31,680 One is internally 1's kind of on the inside of us and the others 332 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,960 externally, like there's certain battles that we kind of face, 333 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,160 certain dilemmas that we face kind of in our mind. 334 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,320 When I struggle to honor my earthly authority in my mind and 335 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,640 internally, it's really important for me to come back 336 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,680 and understand, hey, it is God that placed them in my life for 337 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,480 this time, for this stage, for this season, to bring about His 338 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:57,240 purposes in and through me. He was very, very intentional. 339 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,440 There's no earthly authority that is over me that is 340 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:06,040 accidental or coincidental when it comes to externally. 341 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,560 This is where it gets really, really hairy for a lot of 342 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:13,800 people. What do we do with the statement 343 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,640 that Peter makes for the Lord's sake? 344 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,680 That's kind of a weird statement for Peter to write about 345 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,120 authority, right? This is what Peter. 346 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,200 Was basically getting at did you know? 347 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,680 Did you know that as a follower of Jesus that you and I that we 348 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:36,040 are walking advertisements and walking billboards for Jesus 349 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,440 himself? We are representatives of him 350 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:41,320 at. All points in time. 351 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:48,840 We are representing Jesus so externally when we struggle to 352 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,520 honor authority, we need to come back and we need to understand 353 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,080 that, hey, listen, this is an opportunity for me. 354 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,200 Whether you're a student in the home that that is struggling to 355 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,600 be obedient to, to to your parents. 356 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,760 Hey, listen, this isn't so much about my parents. 357 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:10,080 This is about me showing them Jesus or whether you're in the 358 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:12,960 workforce and you sit there and go, hey, listen, this isn't so 359 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:17,000 much about the job or so much about being liked or, or 360 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,720 interoffice politics. It's really about showing my Co 361 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:26,200 workers Jesus or even as a citizen of the United States. 362 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,120 It's really about showing people Jesus. 363 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:34,800 What are we demonstrating to people about Jesus? 364 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:42,240 You see, I honor God by honoring authority, but Peter goes on and 365 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:45,920 he addresses something that it is an inevitability. 366 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,840 Check out what I mean in first Peter back in first Peter 215, 367 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:51,480 he says for this is the will of God. 368 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,800 That's a strong statement. By the way. 369 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:59,000 This is the will of God. He is speaking on on behalf of 370 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,640 God. This is the will of God. 371 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,760 This is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to 372 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:08,080 silence the ignorance of foolish people. 373 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,480 What is the basic understanding of authority that Peter's 374 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:13,280 getting at here? Check this out. 375 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,920 Number four. I respect authority. 376 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,760 God handles the critics. Those are the roles. 377 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,760 I'm called as a follower of Jesus to respect authority, and 378 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:25,640 I know that he will handle the critics. 379 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,440 Can I just put something out there, Say it as bluntly as I 380 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,680 know how. There is a lot of ignorance in 381 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,600 the world. A lot. 382 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,600 If you don't believe me, maybe you forgot because you're 383 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:44,360 fasting from social media. There's a lot of ignorance in 384 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,920 the world. There's a lot of ignorance that 385 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:48,760 we're surrounded. By. 386 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,760 There's a lot of. Ignorance in the world, right? 387 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,120 You may say, OK, well tell me something I don't, I don't know. 388 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,240 Do you, do you know what what that means? 389 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:01,520 There's a lot of ignorance in the world. 390 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,040 You know what that means for us as followers of Jesus. 391 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:09,240 It means that if you strive to follow the Word, the will, and 392 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:14,520 the ways of God, you will be misunderstood, you will be 393 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:19,080 mislabeled, and you will be called out as something that 394 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,800 you. Probably really are not, and 395 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,200 possibly even cancelled out by an unbelieving world and 396 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:30,000 culture. I'll go so far to say it like 397 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,480 this. The life. 398 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:38,760 Of Jesus himself showcases for us that when you follow the Word 399 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:44,480 and the will and the ways of of God, you will be labeled as too 400 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,000 liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals. 401 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,640 Don't believe me? Look at the teachings of Jesus, 402 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,560 how he called out the liberal attitudes towards sin in his 403 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,320 culture. And yet, who was it that 404 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,120 crucified Jesus on the cross? It wasn't the most liberal in 405 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,120 his culture. It was the most conservative in 406 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:09,600 his culture yet. Jesus answered to a higher 407 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,440 authority, and in answering to that higher authority, He still 408 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:16,880 respected His earthly authority. You and I, we are called, we are 409 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,840 called to respect the earthly authority that God places over 410 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,640 us. And God will handle the critics. 411 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:31,120 Let me say it like this. Never allow or stop allowing the 412 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:34,360 ignorance of other people to keep you from being obedient to 413 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:38,560 God. Stop allowing the ignorance of 414 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,760 other people to keep you from being obedient to God. 415 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,720 You respect authority. You're obedient to God. 416 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,440 Here's what here's what the ignorance of people can do. 417 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,200 The ignorance of people, they can throw you into the 418 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,560 proverbial fire, but the protection of God can sustain 419 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:56,080 you in the fire and he can sustain you to where you even 420 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:57,760 walk out of that fire, not even smelling like. 421 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:01,080 Smoke. You be obedient to the Word, the 422 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,920 will, and the ways of God, and you allow God to handle the 423 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,120 critics in the way that only He knows is right and sees fit. 424 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,840 So with those four basic understandings of what authority 425 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:19,120 really is in every single one of our lives, before we pivot to 426 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,960 the second-half of our time together, I want you to look at 427 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,280 this main truth, and this is in your notes as well. 428 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,960 Earthly authority may change. You can even write will change, 429 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:34,160 but God's word remains the same. Earthly authority may change. 430 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,200 It will change as a matter of fact, that as we grow and as we 431 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:42,280 age, our earthly authority, it changes. 432 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,520 So if you're if you're a kid, you're a student, you won't 433 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,680 always be a kid. You won't always be a student. 434 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,640 You you won't always live in your parents home. 435 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,080 And some of your parents are like, Amen, you know, write that 436 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:55,440 down. Won't always live in my home. 437 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:59,280 Is that that earthly authority will shift. 438 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,880 Elections and political movements will 'cause our 439 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,400 government authorities to shift. But here's the thing with all 440 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,760 the things that shift, there's one thing that doesn't, and that 441 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:13,280 is the truthfulness of God's Word. 442 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,600 That's why we continue to come back to God's Word because this 443 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:24,200 is just as true and applicable to us now as it was the moment 444 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,160 that it was written and read by its original audience. 445 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,800 God's Word teaches us that the Bible is living and active. 446 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,080 It's sharper than any 2 edged sword. 447 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:36,920 So it matters. It's authoritative. 448 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,280 It speaks to everything that we may be going through in our 449 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,320 lives. So with that said, what does the 450 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:49,040 Bible tell us in terms of how we are to navigate our current 451 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:53,600 authority issues or our current government crises? 452 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:58,360 Glad you asked. 4 things #1 taking notes with us. 453 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,640 My submission to authority, it isn't based on my agreement 454 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:05,160 without authority. You see, there's a lot of people 455 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,120 that think that, hey, listen, if I submit to the authority that 456 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,640 is placed over me, that means that I agree with that 457 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:15,040 authority. Know it doesn't you, you, you 458 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:18,440 don't have to agree. Let me give you something that 459 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:22,000 may be earth shattering. I don't have to agree with. 460 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:27,400 I don't have to even like, and I don't have to have voted for my 461 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,360 earthly authority in order to submit to them. 462 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:34,840 You don't have to. My submission to authority isn't 463 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,880 based on my agreement with that authority. 464 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,720 What is it based on? It's based on my obedience to 465 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,080 God. It's based on the fact that I 466 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,640 know that God's ways are higher than my ways and God's 467 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,680 understanding is far deeper than my understanding. 468 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,120 And the authority that he has placed over me for this time in 469 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,720 history, for this season, for this stage is for my purpose. 470 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,200 It's never accidental. It's never coincidental, and I 471 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:04,280 have a choice to make. Am I going to submit to the 472 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,920 earthly authority on the basis that I know that my heavenly 473 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,120 authority has placed that earthly authority there? 474 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:14,440 Or am I going to rely on my feelings and go, I don't like 475 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:16,760 them, so I'm not going to submit to them? 476 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:22,080 The Bible teaches that our submission to authority isn't 477 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,720 based on our agreement with that authority. 478 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:27,640 He goes on. Check this out if you're if 479 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:29,800 you're taking notes with us. My identity. 480 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:33,200 This also means my identity isn't in party or politics. 481 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:34,960 It's in the finished work of Jesus. 482 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:41,960 My identity isn't wrapped up in a political party and it isn't 483 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:45,160 wrapped up in politics. If you've been at Riverbend for 484 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,000 any amount of time, you've probably heard me tell the story 485 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,200 about all through middle school, all through high school, and 486 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,680 even the beginning of college. If you had asked me what my plan 487 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,880 was, my plan was that I wanted to go to law school. 488 00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,520 I wanted to practice law. I want to practice criminal 489 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:04,960 defense because I watched a lot of Matlock as a kid wear serious 490 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:06,240 sucker suits all the time, I guess. 491 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,360 And I wanted to go into politics. 492 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,120 I decided not to go into politics and instead become a 493 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:14,960 pastor. Man, I avoided the whole 494 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:16,000 political scene. Didn't. 495 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,120 I now I, I and I, I hate politics. 496 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,280 I, I hate what politics does to people. 497 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:27,720 I hate the polarized climate of politics. 498 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:31,160 I, I, I listen, I, I get all the talking points on both sides. 499 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:34,640 I really, really do. I just hate what it does to 500 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:38,120 people. But did you know that as a 501 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:43,000 follower of Jesus, your identity isn't primarily wrapped up in a 502 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,760 political party? It's not wrapped up in a 503 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:50,760 political platform. It's wrapped up in the finished 504 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,800 work of Jesus. That means that if you and I, as 505 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:58,240 followers of Jesus, if if we were to have a, a symbol or a 506 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:02,400 mascot represent us, what is most true is it's not going to 507 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,240 be a donkey and it's not going to be an elephant. 508 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:06,360 It's going to be a cross and it's going to be an empty tomb. 509 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,680 Listen, I'm not saying do not mishear me saying that as a 510 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,880 follower of Jesus, we should avoid politics. 511 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:18,200 We shouldn't engage in politics. We shouldn't even, we shouldn't 512 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,600 even like run for political office. 513 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,240 I think that that would be #1 I think it would be foolish and #2 514 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:27,840 I think that it would make us far less effective in the 515 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,920 mission and the purpose that God has us here for. 516 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,600 Yes, to, to, to all those things. 517 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:39,320 But hear me very, very closely. If your political alliances and 518 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,360 your political, what you align with politically in terms of a 519 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:48,400 party's platform ever causes you to look differently at people to 520 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:53,120 love less than you, my friend, you've got the cart before the 521 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:57,160 horse. You see, what Jesus has done for 522 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:01,000 us on the cross is he has set us free. 523 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:05,920 He set us free from our identity being wrapped up in party and 524 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:09,320 and in politics. You you can, you can look and 525 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,800 you can go. Yeah, I believe that based on 526 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,360 the Word of God, that is right. And I believe based on the Word 527 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,520 of God, that is wrong. And I believe based on the Word 528 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,440 of God, that is a good decision. And based on the Word of God, I 529 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,320 believe that that is an evil decision. 530 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,720 But it's not based on my alliance and being tied to a 531 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:34,200 political party's platform. It's based off of the word of 532 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:38,520 God because my primary identity is not wrapped up in a political 533 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:42,240 party or a political movement. It's wrapped up in the finished 534 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:46,360 work of Jesus. Do you know, like, let me get 535 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,400 you to think about like politics and political parties, maybe in 536 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:53,840 a different way. I'm starting to believe that, 537 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,560 that all politics and political parties, it's really about who 538 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:03,800 could build the best sandcastle. When in reality, did you know 539 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:09,080 that Jesus doesn't save us to build better sand castles, He 540 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:10,920 actually frees us from the sandbox. 541 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:13,880 There's a huge, huge difference there. 542 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:21,360 Huge difference. My ultimate identity is not 543 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:25,159 wrapped up in party or politics. It's worked up in the finished 544 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:29,159 work of Jesus. He has set me free. 545 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:35,199 That word freedom, it is a beautiful, beautiful word and it 546 00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:37,639 is a beautiful concept and a beautiful truth. 547 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:42,440 But unfortunately, so many times it's so misunderstood. 548 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:45,320 Here's what I mean. Check this out. 549 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,239 Number three, My freedom isn't doing. 550 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,560 The freedom that God gives me now is a follower of him. 551 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:55,120 My freedom isn't doing and doing whatever I want is living for 552 00:34:55,120 --> 00:35:00,200 the One who saved my life. It's not about doing whatever I 553 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:02,400 want. I don't know if you've noticed 554 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:03,960 this or not. If you've been at Riverbend for 555 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,880 any amount of time throughout this series, there's been a, 556 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,560 there's been a verse that's been printed at the bottom of your 557 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,560 bulletin notes every single week of your note sheet. 558 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:14,760 And I don't. I don't know if you've noticed 559 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:16,880 this or not. But it's this verse, it's it's 560 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:21,520 first Peter 216 live as people who are free, not using your 561 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:25,080 freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants of God. 562 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:26,720 What does that? Mean. 563 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:29,800 What does that mean that that's actually been like kind of the 564 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:33,720 key verse of this entire series. Live as people who are free, not 565 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:36,240 using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants 566 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:38,360 of God. It means that as believers in. 567 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:42,600 In God, as followers of Jesus, we draw a stark distinction 568 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:47,800 between what it means to live free and what it means to live 569 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,640 with license. Let me give you kind of a. 570 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:55,360 Breakdown of the difference of the two living in freedom. 571 00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:01,920 Living in freedom is the ability to live as God designed within 572 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,000 his good boundaries that are good for us. 573 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:08,880 But if I view that freedom as almost license or a permission 574 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:13,680 to live however I want to, license is using freedom as an 575 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:18,160 excuse to do whatever I want. Regardless of wisdom, truth, or 576 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,920 consequences, freedom lives underneath God's authority. 577 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,760 License rejects and rebels against God's authority. 578 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,440 Freedom leads to life, peace, and purpose. 579 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:30,280 License turns grace into permission. 580 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:32,640 Freedom is the power to do whatever is right. 581 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:34,840 License is an excuse. To do whatever I want. 582 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:39,000 If you view the freedom that you have been given as a follower of 583 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:42,040 Jesus, If you view it as a license to do whatever you want 584 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,040 to. You, my friend, have a complete 585 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:48,120 misunderstanding of grace and a complete misunderstanding of 586 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:49,800 freedom. Think of it this way. 587 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:54,800 Freedom is like a prisoner that has been set free from prison 588 00:36:55,200 --> 00:37:00,200 and chooses to use his freedom to serve a good good king. 589 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:05,160 License is like a prisoner being set free from prison and 590 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:08,760 choosing to use that freedom to return. 591 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:13,160 To a life of crime. You see, you and I, we have been 592 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:18,680 set free for a purpose and that purpose is to live the life that 593 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:22,600 God created us to live and intends for us to live. 594 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:28,360 Freedom isn't to be used to do whatever I want, it is to be 595 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:32,480 used for God's purposes. Last, how do we use our freedom? 596 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:39,200 We thrown a lot at us in terms of first Peter chapter chapter 597 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:43,440 2. How do you and I as followers of 598 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,800 Jesus that are seeking the wisdom and the counsel and the 599 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:51,680 goddess of the Holy Spirit in our lives, how do we live 600 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,120 subject to our heavenly authority while at the same time 601 00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:57,080 subject to our earthly authority? 602 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:01,000 I love how Peter lays out verse 17. 603 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:02,720 He lays it out. Very, very clear. 604 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,440 I need it very clear for me. I need it very simplistic for 605 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:08,240 me. And I'm so glad that the Holy 606 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:10,920 Spirit inspired Peter to write it this way. 607 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:16,480 This is kind of my daily conduct or the what we need to adopt as 608 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:19,720 a daily commitment. And it is waking up and 609 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:22,480 committing ourselves to these four things. 610 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:25,280 Number 1, he says honor everyone. 611 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:29,440 Honor as. In Look at every single person 612 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:34,880 that you run across in life, whether in real life or 613 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:40,720 virtually, as a person of value, as a person that God created in 614 00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:45,720 his own image, a person with a soul, a person that. 615 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:53,560 God loves honor everyone. As in everyone. 616 00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,720 The people like you, the people not like you. 617 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,560 The people who like you. The people that don't like you. 618 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:05,120 The people who think and vote and believe like you. 619 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:08,280 The people who don't think, who don't believe, and who don't 620 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:13,560 vote like you. Everyone, as in everyone. 621 00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:16,440 Honor everyone. He doesn't stop there. 622 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:20,000 He goes Honor everyone and then love the brotherhood. 623 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:22,240 What does love the Brotherhood mean? 624 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:29,360 Love as in placing the needs of someone else above my own. 625 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:37,280 Brotherhood as in fellow followers of Jesus in the local 626 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:41,120 church, Riverbend, and in the global church. 627 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:45,640 If that means that, that the brotherhood is made-up of men 628 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:50,080 and women and kids and students from not only all over 629 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:52,920 Gainesville, all over Hall County, all over Georgia, the 630 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:54,840 United States, but all over the world. 631 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:57,720 That's the global church. The brotherhood. 632 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:02,720 What, what it means to love the brotherhood. 633 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:05,600 It means that we don't just go to church together. 634 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:09,400 We're like family. We're like family. 635 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:14,080 And then he goes #3 fear God, fear God. 636 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,720 Understanding this simply means, let me kind of put it down brass 637 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:22,280 tacks. It means that I take seriously 638 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:28,040 who he is and what he says. I take very seriously who God is 639 00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:32,000 and what he says. And I recognize him as my 640 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:36,960 ultimate authority. This is where this is where it 641 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:41,080 can get really tricky for us because did you know that 642 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:46,400 there's sometimes that for me to fear God is to go against my 643 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:50,600 earthly authority? We see an example of this. 644 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:55,360 Playing out in Acts chapter 5. Where Peter and the disciples 645 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:58,280 are telling the people in Jerusalem about Jesus and they 646 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:00,760 get called in by their earthly authorities and they get 647 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:03,600 chastised. They get verbally spanked and 648 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:06,200 then they get flogged, which is worse than being verbally 649 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:07,920 spanked. That's being like beaten with 650 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:11,440 sticks. And they're told, stop telling 651 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:15,400 people about Jesus and Peter and the apostles, They, they, they 652 00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:17,160 stand up. And I believe that they 653 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:21,280 respectfully respond to their earthly authority and go, hey, 654 00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:27,240 listen, we can either follow God or we can follow you. 655 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:34,320 And we've got to follow God. So what happens when there's a 656 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:37,880 point in time to where we feel? Like our earthly authority is 657 00:41:37,880 --> 00:41:39,680 contradicting our heavenly authority. 658 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:46,000 Let me give you at least two things that we need to do if you 659 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:49,040 find yourself in that dilemma to where you feel that your earthly 660 00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:51,160 authority is contradicting your heavenly authority. 661 00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:53,880 Number one, spend a lot of time in prayer. 662 00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:58,200 Spend a lot of time in prayer and and pray something like 663 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:00,840 this. God, I want you to go into the 664 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:04,280 deep places of me and I want you to search me out. 665 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,320 I want you to search out any impure motives. 666 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:11,760 I want you to search out any misunderstandings, any skewed. 667 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:13,960 Perspectives. And I want you to not just 668 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,760 search those things out, I want you to rise those to the 669 00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:20,320 surface, raise them to the surface in my life so that I can 670 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:23,240 lay those at your feet. And I can ask that you deal with 671 00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:28,000 those things that that that's really a prayer for, for, for 672 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,320 purity. God, I want to be pure. 673 00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:35,240 I want to make sure that I am in alliance with I am in full 674 00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:38,320 alignment with your heart and with your word. 675 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:42,040 Second thing, after we spend a lot of time in prayer and a lot 676 00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:43,960 of people skip over this. After spend a lot of time in 677 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:47,400 prayer, seek out the wise and godly counsel. 678 00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:52,600 Of someone that you know that is close to God and basically just 679 00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:55,840 say, hey, listen, this is the situation that I as I see it. 680 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:59,520 What's your take on it? And all that is, is admitting 681 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:03,880 that none of us have a 360° view of of our own lives and 682 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:06,920 perspectives. It's bringing somebody else into 683 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:10,880 our lives to have our best benefit, our best interest at 684 00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:14,560 heart that we know love us and love Jesus and want what's best 685 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:17,000 for us. And they giving them permission 686 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:21,720 to point out our blind spots and say, listen, if I'm wrong in 687 00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:23,280 this, would you point that out to me? 688 00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:27,600 Will you tell me where where I'm kind of flawed. 689 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:29,960 I want to run something by you and I want you to I want you to 690 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:33,640 punch some holes into it as God's word would punch holes 691 00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:37,320 into it. There may very well be points 692 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:40,680 and times to where our earthly authority contradicts our 693 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:43,280 heavenly authority. And in that point in time, guess 694 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,680 what? We've got to make the decision. 695 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:48,520 Hey, listen, I respect my earthly authority, but 696 00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:53,720 ultimately I've got to fear my God because when I die, I'm not 697 00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:57,440 standing in front of any man to give an account for my life. 698 00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:00,480 I'm staying in front of a holy God, giving an account for my 699 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:02,440 life. Fear God. 700 00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:06,600 Fourth thing that he tells us, honor the emperor. 701 00:44:08,120 --> 00:44:11,000 Honor the emperor. I can't help but think that 702 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:14,560 Peter's original readers, they probably like whoever was 703 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:18,000 standing up and kind of reading it to that house church the 704 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:21,240 first time that they got Peter's letter, they're probably like, 705 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:22,160 OK. This is how. 706 00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:24,560 Peter ends this passage. Honor everyone, love the 707 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:27,720 brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. 708 00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:30,960 I I think I think Peter had a typo here. 709 00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,760 Honor the Emperor. Here's why. 710 00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:36,520 Historically, if you know anything about the Roman Empire 711 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:40,480 at this stage of Peter's life, do you know who the Roman 712 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:42,920 Emperor was? It's a guy by the name of Nero. 713 00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:46,280 You can look this up. You can actually Google it. 714 00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:49,200 Google. Was Nero emperor Nero? 715 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:52,640 Was he a nut job? The answer is yes. 716 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:55,720 You don't even need AI. The answer is yes. 717 00:44:56,080 --> 00:45:01,520 Nero was crazy. Nero, Let me give you kind of a 718 00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:07,160 a brief snapshot of Nero. Nero was so crazy and he hated 719 00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:09,240 Christians. He hated followers of Jesus so 720 00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:13,400 much that he would round up Christians, he would impale them 721 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:18,880 on poles, place those poles in his garden, and then cover those 722 00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:22,120 Christians, those impaled Christians, with tar and pitch 723 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:25,400 and light them on fire to light up his garden parties. 724 00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:28,840 That was Nero. Oh, by the way, Nero was the 725 00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:30,720 one. He was the emperor that was 726 00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:33,360 responsible for the death and the execution of the Apostle 727 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:34,800 Paul. And guess who else? 728 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:37,760 Peter. And yet, what do we see Peter 729 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,400 writing here? Honor the emperor. 730 00:45:41,720 --> 00:45:44,280 Because I like him? No, because I voted for him. 731 00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:49,040 No, because I agree with him. No, because God's not surprised 732 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:53,520 that Nero is in his earthly position of authority. 733 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,080 And I've got to trust that God's God knows what he's doing. 734 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:01,360 You know, I think that. We would be. 735 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:07,920 Shocked if we woke up every single morning and we began our 736 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:10,440 day. Pour yourself a cup of coffee. 737 00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:14,240 If you're not a coffee drinker, start becoming a coffee drinker. 738 00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:19,320 Pour yourself a cup of coffee and pray Something like this. 739 00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:24,840 God, today, I want today to be marked by you. 740 00:46:24,840 --> 00:46:29,400 Helping me to honor everyone doesn't mean that I necessarily 741 00:46:29,400 --> 00:46:30,600 like them. They like me. 742 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:32,000 I agree with them, they agree with me. 743 00:46:32,240 --> 00:46:34,040 Your word tells me to honor everyone. 744 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:36,880 I want to see people the way that you see people. 745 00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:43,760 God, today I want today to be marked by my unique love for 746 00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:46,560 other believers, for other followers of Jesus. 747 00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:52,200 God, today would you help me to fear you as my ultimate 748 00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:54,680 authority. God, as I go to work, I am 749 00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:58,520 working unto you. As I, as I go to school, I am, I 750 00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:04,400 am a student unto you. I'm, I'm working as unto you. 751 00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:07,520 As I'm in my home. I'm, I'm submitting to, I'm 752 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:11,800 obedient to my parents as as if I was obedient unto you. 753 00:47:12,040 --> 00:47:15,360 God, I want to fear you above any and everything else. 754 00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:20,560 And God, I want to pray specifically for those in 755 00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:24,080 authority over me. God, I know that you placed them 756 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:28,920 there for at least this time stage and season of my life to 757 00:47:28,920 --> 00:47:31,080 bring about your purposes in my life. 758 00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:36,240 I know that they're fallen and they need you as much as I need 759 00:47:36,240 --> 00:47:38,040 you. So I want to pray for them. 760 00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:42,320 I think if we started our day, that's why I love, I love first 761 00:47:42,320 --> 00:47:46,680 Peter 217 because he brings it so far down on the bottom shelf 762 00:47:46,680 --> 00:47:49,320 for us, doesn't he? He was like, listen, these four 763 00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:53,400 things, a couple words, period, A couple words, period, a couple 764 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:56,440 words, period. I think that if we started our 765 00:47:56,440 --> 00:48:00,240 day, I think that we would be shocked at just how our view of 766 00:48:00,240 --> 00:48:04,200 people would really change. We wouldn't view them through 767 00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:07,360 the lens of politics. We wouldn't view people as 768 00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:10,320 issues or. Or problems? 769 00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:13,240 We view people as the way that God views people. 770 00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:15,840 I think we'd be shocked how we started to see people. 771 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:20,800 I think we'd also be shocked at how close we grew to God and 772 00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:22,880 that intimacy, that daily walk with him. 773 00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:26,520 And here's kind of how I want to end our time. 774 00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:30,200 You know, I, I said, what if we prayed that prayer? 775 00:48:30,200 --> 00:48:33,200 What if we prayed those prayers starting off every day? 776 00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:37,560 Here's my question to you. Why wait till tomorrow? 777 00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:43,960 What if we ended our time today praying those prayers to kind of 778 00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:47,120 help prime that pump? I want to walk you through 4 779 00:48:47,720 --> 00:48:49,480 questions. I just want you to listen to 780 00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:52,920 these and kind of answer them in your, in your own mind. 781 00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:58,280 First of all, has there been a specific date, time and place 782 00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:00,600 that you've submitted your life to God's authority? 783 00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:05,800 You know, you, you may be here to, to celebrate Amanda or, or 784 00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:09,120 Mike or maybe when you walked in, you didn't even know who 785 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:12,720 Amanda and Mike were. But you see their step of 786 00:49:12,720 --> 00:49:15,920 obedience and there's just been something that's tugging at you 787 00:49:15,920 --> 00:49:20,440 to where you're like, you know what, I need to follow Jesus. 788 00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:23,440 I need to submit my life to God's authority. 789 00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:26,360 Maybe you have already submitted your life to God's authority and 790 00:49:26,360 --> 00:49:31,040 you need to be obedient to him. I love the courage of Mike. 791 00:49:31,040 --> 00:49:33,600 After 32 years going, you know what? 792 00:49:33,880 --> 00:49:36,600 I need to be baptized. Never been baptized. 793 00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:38,600 I need to be baptized. Maybe that's you. 794 00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:41,280 Maybe that's your step of obedience. 795 00:49:41,960 --> 00:49:45,120 Here's a second question. What earthly authority has God 796 00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:47,880 placed over you? I think it's really important 797 00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:52,760 that we spend a little bit of time and take it out of the out 798 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:57,440 of kind of the sermon note world and put some practical real life 799 00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:01,280 feat on it. I think that nobody's going to 800 00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:02,680 argue. All of us have earthly 801 00:50:02,680 --> 00:50:04,680 authority. I think it's really important 802 00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:08,360 that we start to think mentally catalog who's the earthly 803 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:10,520 authority that God's placed over me. 804 00:50:11,160 --> 00:50:13,640 If you're a student or a kid, it's your, it's your mom, it's 805 00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:16,240 your dad, it's your family, it's your teachers, it's your 806 00:50:16,240 --> 00:50:20,200 coaches, it's your directors. If you're an employee, it's 807 00:50:20,200 --> 00:50:22,320 your, it's your supervisor, it's your boss. 808 00:50:23,520 --> 00:50:27,400 If you're an employer, you know that there's a great myth that 809 00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:30,280 if you just start your own business, you don't have anybody 810 00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:32,560 as a, as a boss. You know that there's that's a 811 00:50:32,560 --> 00:50:36,600 myth. Who's your earthly authority? 812 00:50:39,400 --> 00:50:44,320 Once you have that in mind #3 will you commit to consistently 813 00:50:44,320 --> 00:50:49,800 praying for them by name? Will you commit students? 814 00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:52,880 Will you commit to praying for your mom and your dad and your 815 00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:56,280 family by name, your teachers, your coaches, your directors by 816 00:50:56,280 --> 00:51:01,320 name, you're in the workforce. Commit to praying for your 817 00:51:01,320 --> 00:51:06,120 supervisors, for your bosses by name as citizens of the of, of 818 00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:09,480 the United States? Will you commit to, to praying 819 00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:13,040 for President Trump and, and his administration? 820 00:51:13,040 --> 00:51:15,200 You'd be like, well, I don't like him and I don't like the 821 00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:17,720 way he talks to people. That's irrelevant. 822 00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:20,800 Will you pray for him? We're not asking if you like 823 00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:23,440 him. I'm asking if you'll pray for 824 00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:25,720 him. I think that we would all agree 825 00:51:25,720 --> 00:51:29,240 that he needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 826 00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:33,840 Will we consistently as the people of God, pray for the 827 00:51:33,840 --> 00:51:36,680 people that God has placed over us in positions of authority? 828 00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:40,520 Here's the 4th ask Will you consistently? 829 00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:43,880 Will you commit to consistently praying that God would guide you 830 00:51:44,560 --> 00:51:47,720 to live with purpose and freedom under the authority that He has 831 00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:53,040 placed you? Will you consistently pray for 832 00:51:53,040 --> 00:51:55,280 you? Because I don't know about you, 833 00:51:55,280 --> 00:51:57,680 but a lot of times it's hard to live up underneath authority, 834 00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:01,960 isn't it? It's hard not being the one that 835 00:52:01,960 --> 00:52:05,560 always calls the shots. It's hard wrestling with some of 836 00:52:05,560 --> 00:52:08,640 these issues. But would you pray that the Holy 837 00:52:08,640 --> 00:52:13,160 Spirit would do a work in you that honors God by honoring 838 00:52:13,160 --> 00:52:15,720 them? So here's what I want to do. 839 00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:19,600 I want to pray over us. As soon as we pray, I'm going to 840 00:52:19,600 --> 00:52:23,320 invite us to stand. And I love the song that that 841 00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:24,960 our band's going to lead us into. 842 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:28,400 It reminds us of who our ultimate authority really is as 843 00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:31,520 our heavenly Father, All Hail King Jesus. 844 00:52:32,960 --> 00:52:37,400 But this is a time to where with that in mind, All hail King 845 00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:41,280 Jesus God, I honor you by honoring my earthly authority. 846 00:52:41,880 --> 00:52:45,400 I just want to invite you if, if you will, to, to come down and 847 00:52:45,400 --> 00:52:48,920 pray by name for the earthly authority that God has placed 848 00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:52,000 over you. If you're with us online, then 849 00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:56,200 you can do that wherever you may be in your living room or at 850 00:52:56,200 --> 00:53:00,680 your kitchen table. But I want to pray over us. 851 00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:04,240 And then I want to invite, I want to invite us into a sacred 852 00:53:04,240 --> 00:53:08,120 moment to where we pray for those that God has placed over 853 00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:09,600 us. Pray with me, God. 854 00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:13,800 We love you and we thank you for who you are for God, you being 855 00:53:13,800 --> 00:53:18,080 our ultimate authority. God, there's no one higher than 856 00:53:18,080 --> 00:53:21,160 you. God, you are always good, You 857 00:53:21,160 --> 00:53:25,920 are always right, you are always true, You are always for us. 858 00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:32,080 God, You desire more for us. God, you are a good and perfect 859 00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:39,320 Heavenly Father, yet you are King and God. 860 00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:43,560 With that mindset of who you are, God, we also acknowledge 861 00:53:43,560 --> 00:53:49,080 the fact that you have strategically placed and 862 00:53:49,080 --> 00:53:53,760 established the earthly authority that we have over us. 863 00:53:56,200 --> 00:53:59,320 God, sometimes it's really hard for us to wrap our minds around 864 00:53:59,320 --> 00:54:02,000 and, and, and to honor and to submit to that earthly 865 00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:04,440 authority. Sometimes we may not like that 866 00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:07,280 earthly authority. Sometimes we may not feel like 867 00:54:07,280 --> 00:54:12,480 it, but God, would you remind us that we honor you by honoring 868 00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:15,440 them. And God, we just want to take 869 00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:22,240 this moment as we praise your name, God, to also lift up by 870 00:54:22,240 --> 00:54:25,520 name the authority figures in our lives. 871 00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:31,440 God, we understand that you are flawless, but all of us, 872 00:54:31,440 --> 00:54:33,720 including our earthly authorities, they are flawed. 873 00:54:35,000 --> 00:54:38,840 And God, we need you so desperately and we need your 874 00:54:38,840 --> 00:54:42,440 guidance in our lives so desperately, and so do they. 875 00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:47,400 So the most loving thing that we can do for the people, for the 876 00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:50,240 men, the women, and the government agencies and the 877 00:54:50,240 --> 00:54:54,360 civil servants that you have placed around us and over us, is 878 00:54:54,360 --> 00:54:57,960 to lift them up by name and continually to do so. 879 00:54:58,640 --> 00:55:02,720 God, I pray that you would break down any walls of hesitation and 880 00:55:02,720 --> 00:55:05,720 any walls of pride. And it's in Jesus name that we 881 00:55:05,720 --> 00:55:07,040 pray. Amen. 882 00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:14,840 Thank you for listening to Riverbend Church's podcast. 883 00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:18,280 To find out more about this message or Riverbend Church, 884 00:55:18,400 --> 00:55:21,680 connect with us online at Riverbend Church dot live.