So we're taking our Bibles and turning to the second Psalm, Psalm 2. As we talk this evening from God's word on the purpose of submission, Psalm 2. Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. You know, the Word of God talks about God's laughter both in the book of Proverbs as well as in the Psalms. And it's interesting when God's laughter is referenced in the Bible, it's always in the context of judgment. And that could often bring a complex thought. How can God laugh in the midst of judgment? And the answer, of course, is God's judgment is always righteous. The fifth verse, then he shall speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree that the Lord has said unto me." Now in between verse 6 and verse 7, you'll note a change in voice in this psalm. This is a psalm that speaks out of eternity. The father saying, I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. The son responding in verse 7. I will declare the decree that the Lord has said to me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, the Father says, and I will give of thee the heathen for thine inheritance, the innermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces with a potter's vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings. Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and he perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. I'd like to speak this evening on the purpose of submission as we look in God's word together. Father, bless our conversation from your word this evening. Help us to think your thoughts after you. And Lord, may our hearts be submissive to your will. to your word, to your way, to your spirit, to one another, so that we might be found faithful and end the course to here well done, good and faithful servant. For it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. People don't like to submit. If they did, parenting would be a whole lot easier. We're born stubborn by nature. Most of us would rather be the one giving the orders then be the one receiving the orders. Submission is hard work. God well knows our stubborn nature. God's Word is filled with those commandments that require submission. And it began early on in our race with Adam and Eve in the garden being required not to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, to submit to the command of God. You'll recall that God's word would require the children of Israel to submit to the law of God and be obedient to know God's blessings. The New Testament believer is constrained to be submissive to the commandments and the teachings of the Savior by the power of the Spirit of God living within them. And church members, church members are called upon to be submissive to those authorities that are over them. But there's a problem. The problem is we don't like to submit. Most of us find ourselves like that little girl who was told to sit down. She stubbornly sat down and said, well, I'm sitting down on the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside. All of us have a good bit of that in our nature. And sadly, we're living in a generation where rebellion almost seems to be applauded. After all, we don't talk about rebellion. We talk about our rights. We don't talk about rebellion. We learn to question authority. We don't talk about rebellion. We sanction protests and strikes. We don't talk about rebellion. We just speak our mind. This evening we'll talk about submission, and when we talk about submission, we have to talk about rebellion. Since God expects people to submit, we must learn to submit. Over the last few weeks, we've developed a little bit of a pattern. whereby we've answered some of the purpose questions of life by looking first at some axioms and then suggesting the purposes that are recommended in God's word. We're going to vary that pattern a bit this evening. This evening, we're going to ask some questions about submission. We begin by asking, what is biblical submission? What is biblical submission? Biblical submission is the core attitude of the Christian faith. It sees God as completely in control. The submissive believer seeks to orient every priority in light of the reality that God's authority is absolute. Now we need to break that down a little bit. So let's do so this evening. Submission for the Christian is a core attitude. It's a core attitude of the Christian faith. Take your Bibles with me and go to Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16. It's impossible to be in the faith without being submissive. Matthew chapter 16, the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to his disciples in verse 24. Then said Jesus to his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. He doesn't recommend that we assert ourselves. He doesn't recommend that we find ourselves. He doesn't recommend that we inflame our self image. He recommends that we deny ourselves, and that's going to require submission. To take up our cross and follow him, for whosoever will save his life will lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. An unsubmissive Christian, that really is an oxymoron. In John 14 and verse 15, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. In Luke 6 and verse 46, Jesus says, And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? When it comes to the matter of submission, submission is a core attitude of the Christian faith. It would be impossible to truly practice the Christian faith and not be submissive. Most of my family has come to believe that my father doesn't really celebrate Thanksgiving. Not that he's an unthankful person. They think that he doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving because he never eats turkey. In fact, he has a bad attitude about turkey. When turkey is being made for Thanksgiving, he's been heard to say things like, well, that's foul. Or I don't want any of that beaky buzzard. He's not very sweet on turkey. But for the rest of the family, no turkey is no Thanksgiving because turkey's core. You can't have Thanksgiving without turkey. It's like having Nike without a swoosh. It's like having a bicycle without wheels. It's like having an automobile without an engine. It would be an oxymoron to believe that you could be a Christian without knowing submission. Submission is core. Where there is no submission, one needs to doubt if there's any genuine salvation. 1 Samuel 15 says in verse 23, rebellion, you see, is as the sin of witchcraft. And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Submission is a core attitude to the Christian. Submission sees God as completely in control. Take your Bibles and go with me to the book of Acts chapter 2. The book of Acts, chapter two, the first message of the church. To the rebellious world is found here in Acts, chapter two. And in Acts, chapter two, the 36th verse, as Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost, he says, therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made the same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. The first message to the church, the first message to the world is that Jesus is Lord. He is Lord and Christ. He's not just the Messiah, though that's an amazing fulfillment of prophecy. But more than that, he is the Lord and he is the sovereign over all. There are some things that we understand. Are very difficult for us to comprehend. Solomon admits this in Proverbs 30, saying there'll be three things which are too wonderful for me. Yea, for which I know not the way of the eagle in the air, the way of the serpent upon a rock, the way of the ship in the sea. And he says, in the way of a man with a maid. Friend, you will never really understand biblical submission until you begin to understand God's sovereignty. It begins with an acknowledgment that God is sovereign. And there seem to be those who would profess to know Christ and even call Him Lord, but completely ignore His authority. Luke 6, again in verse 46, why would you call me Lord? Lord, and do not that which I command you. Submission sees God as completely in control. Submission orients everything under God's control, under God's authority. Take your Bible and go with me to the book of James, chapter 4, the book of James. Chapter 4. Submission orients everything under God's authority. The believer who recognizes that God is in control and that submission is a core attitude of the Christian faith will then begin to orient every life's decision under the authority with submission to God. James, Chapter 4, the seventh verse. Submit yourselves Therefore, to God, this is a command. It's not a mere recommendation. It's a direct command of God. The old adage that the preacher used to use, God said it, that settles it. God said it. Submit yourself. Does it settle it for you when it comes to the matter of submission? Biblical submission is the core attitude of the Christian faith. It sees God as completely in control. The submissive believer seeks to orient every priority in light of the reality that God's authority is absolute. To bow the knee is the practice of the genuine Christian heart. To stoop under the rod is the practice of every Christian believer. But there are many who find themselves stubborn along the way. And so we ask the question, to whom are we to submit? To whom are we to submit? See, it would be pointless to understand the matter of submission without applying the truth in our daily lives. So let's consider just a few of the truths about submission that are discovered in God's Word. Biblical submission, of course, involves submission to God. We've alluded to that truth. But that truth is affirmed in many places in God's Word, that I want that heart attitude, that soul spirit that says, I will submit myself to my God in everything. In 1 Samuel 15 and verse 22, Samuel the prophet says, Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. Far better to obey God than even to do as we spoke of this morning, to be a very generous giver. to be a very faithful church attender. If we do it with a heart that's stubborn and without obedience, we've forgotten that to obey is better than sacrifice. Luke 11 and verse 28, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. John 15 and verse 14, if you love me, Jesus says, keep my commandments. You have to make a decision in your Christian walk to submit to God. to make a decision to submit to God and to order your life by the power of the Spirit through the principles and the precepts of God's Word. Let's face it, there are some people who think, you know, if I do that, God's got this terrible pathway He's going to put me on. If I really become sincere about submitting my life to His will as revealed in His Word through the power of His Spirit, no offense, Because this is a night we voted on missionaries, but God's probably going to send me to Africa somewhere. I heard about a pastor who said in his older years, everywhere that I told God I didn't want to go, that's where he sent me. So he's heard to fervently pray, not Hawaii, Lord, not Hawaii. I don't think that's true. But I do think people have that thought in mind when reality is, folks, listen. Reality is when we submit to God and we walk in His will, we walk under the wonderful umbrella of His protection. When we become stubborn toward God and disobey His plain commandments, we move out from that umbrella of His protection into a place of great danger. When I was in junior high, I carried newspapers early in the morning. I had a little dog that used to go with me. The little dog wasn't on the leash, and most of the time, he behaved pretty well. I remember one particular morning, I walked across the street, and he decided there was something on the other side of the street that captured his attention. Usually, the street was very calm. I usually started my paper route at about 5.15 in the morning. But that particular morning, I called the dog, and he didn't come. And I called the dog, and he didn't come. I was on the other side of the street and I saw this big truck coming down the road. At about that time I thought, I'll quit calling the dog. Being a dumb dog, he decided to come when I didn't call. He ran right out in front of that truck. The truck rolled right over him. I saw my little dog go spinning down the road. I don't know how many head over heels he did. It stopped. I went running out there with my heart racing. I picked the little dog up. I didn't know dogs could go into shock. I didn't give him mouth to mouth, I can tell you that. Picked him up and ran him home and within about 10 minutes he came out of it. No fractures, no cuts. I hope he learned something that the Lord has had to teach me the hard way many times. I'm not in the place of His protection when I'm living in disobedience to His plain revelation. The place of His protection is living in obedience to what He has revealed to me. You know the psalmist says in Psalm 119 and verse 165, Great peace have they who love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. The word to offend there means to cause them to stumble. Those who love the law of the Lord Even when the road becomes difficult and the waves are high, like Wallace sang about this evening, when we love the law of the Lord and are living in obedience, nothing causes us to stumble. Biblical submission involves first submission to God, that's the place of his greatest protection. Biblical submission involves submission to authorities. God establishes authorities over us with great wisdom and expectation. Take your Bibles and go with me to 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5. God expects you to submit to elders. 1 Peter 5. And I'm not speaking here of local church elders. 1 Peter 5. And in verse 5, he's speaking of elders as in older people. 1 Peter 5 and verse 5, likewise ye younger submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject to one another and be clothed with humility for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The fifth verse needs to be underlined. Here is a principle sadly forgotten in our generation. You see, our culture has flipped this vital principle on its head. The marketing culture thinks everything revolves around the young. All new pop trends, after all, need to ask the question, what do the young people think? That mindset has found its way into the church and it's done tremendous damage because it stands exactly the opposite of what God's word expects. You younger submit yourselves unto the elder. God's word says the young are to rise up and show honor to the hoary head, to the gray headed one who walks by. Page after page of God's Word shares this same philosophy, that the younger are to show respect for their elders. Friends, we're living in a culture that caters to youth and forgets the aged. We're living in a culture that spends a whole lot of time trying to figure out what the millennials think and very little time trying to figure out what does the Bible say. And sadly, many of our evangelical Bible teaching churches are falling prey to this awful abuse of scriptural principle. I remember when I first came to Colonial Hills Baptist Church, there were those who said, Pastor Phelps, you know, we're getting a little older around here. I almost felt bad about that for a while. But as I prayed about it and wrestled through God's word, the Lord seemed to put a spirit in my heart that said, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, what a wonderful blessing to be in a congregation of mature believers who've practiced their faith and lived it out. It's the greatest strength our church has. Take your Bibles with me for just a moment and turn to 1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5. Don't make the mistake of pandering to youth without being obedient to God's command. God expects you to submit, to listen to the reasonable, biblical, faithful voices of the elders. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 1, rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters with all purity. When I first became a lead pastor, I believe I was at the ripe old age of 30 or maybe 31. I remember sitting down with the five deacons of the congregation, looking around the room and realizing, wow, that fellow pastored for 27 years and that fellow pastored for 35 years and every one of these guys is older than me. I came to 1 Timothy 5 knowing this to be a pastoral epistle filled with instruction for me and learned a great deal. I'm supposed to treat these older men as I would treat my father. The expectation is I would treat them with respect and reverence. I would care for what they say. I would heed their counsel. I'd look at their life pattern and find a pattern for my own. The expectation is not to consider what's happening in the youth ministry and guide the church accordingly. It's just not. Praise the Lord for a congregation that God has blessed, and we're so thankful for what He's doing in the young adults at Colonial. One of the greatest things you can learn, young adults, this evening as we look in God's Word, is to put in practice what we're hearing here. God expects submission of the younger to the older, generically. In fact, take your Bibles and go over to Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2. I know this sounds very countercultural today, archaic, passe. And you know what? I don't care, because it's the Bible. Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2 says in verse 2, the aged men be sober and grave and temperate, sound in faith and charity and patience. The aged women, likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. That they may teach the young women to be sober, There's an assumption here that the older have something to teach the younger to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chase keepers at home, good, obedient, their husbands at the word of God, not be not blasphemed. Now, young man, likewise exhort to be sober minded in all things, showing myself as a pattern of good works and doctrine, showing uncorruptedness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned. It's become very true. Many churches have been swallowed up in marketing mentalities that ask the question always, how will we reach the young? I don't want to be part of a church that reaches the young by forgetting the old. I don't want to be a part of a church that reaches the young by being disrespectful to the mature. Why? Because it doesn't fit God's philosophy of submission. God expects us to submit to elders. God expects you to submit to your boss. Ephesians 6 and verse 5. Ephesians 6 and verse 5. Servants, the word of God says, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling and singleness of heart as unto Christ. It should go without saying that the best worker at every workplace ought to be the believer. For they serve not with eye service as men pleasers, but as unto the Lord, knowing that of him will receive the reward. God expects you to submit to the government, to the government. Romans 13 and verse 1. Let every soul be subject unto higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisted the power resisted the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Those who shake their fists at elected officials are shaking their fist at God. We live in a wonderful world of tension. live in a wonderful land that has given to us the freedom to protest and given to us the freedom of speech and the freedom to vote. And yet the tension of God's word, exercise your freedoms and vote. But once the election is done, respect those authorities that are over you and submit to those authorities over you with this condition. The apostles shared it well in the Book of Acts when they were warned not to preach. And they said, in this matter, it's better for us to obey God than man. When the tensions of government are such that God's commandments are to be put aside, then we obey God and not man. Submit to your parents. Ephesians 6 and verse 1, probably the first verse that most children learn. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Children who disrespect their parents are failing in this vital area of Christian submission. And partial obedience, listen, is still disobedience. And delayed obedience is still disobedience. Submit to authorities that have been placed over us in the church. Hebrews 13 and verse 7, and again in verse 17, the Word of God says, Obey them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls. You see, when it comes to biblical submission, there's submission to God, there's submission to authorities, and there's submission to others. Ephesians 5 and verse 21, Submit to one another, to one another. Having a submissive spirit toward others honors God. Romans 12 and verse 10, in honor, preferring one another. And when we ask the question tonight, so why? Why is submission so important? Take your Bibles once again and let's go back to James chapter 4. James chapter 4. Why is submission so important? James chapter 4. Without submission, there can be no unity. Not in the home, not in the workplace, not in the government, not in the church. James chapter four. From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence, even of your lust that war in your members? Without submission, there can be no unity. For some churches, there's a display of disunity because there's a display of a hostile spirit, a partisan spirit. I pause this evening to thank the Lord for a business meeting that's become a memory to our congregation, but a blessing we trust. Baptist churches have become widely known for places where business meetings become places of division. It's unfortunate to hear people say things like, you know how Baptist churches multiply, they multiply by division. James 4, for whence come these wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence of your own lust that warn your members? Ye lust and have not You kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight in war, you have not because you ask not. May God help us to realize where there is no submission, there is no unity. Without submission, friends, you can't truly be a follower of Christ. Look with me, please, at the book of Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two. The first verse. If there be therefore any consolation of Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels of mercies, fulfill you my joy, that you may be like minded. Having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory. But in loneliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. How am I going to do that? Verse five. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant was made in the likeness of men. Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God is highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Our model, friends, of submission is the model of the Savior. In a world where rebellion surrounds us, where God often withholds his blessings because so few willingly submit, Deuteronomy says in chapter 9 and verse 6, Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not the good land to possess it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stiff-necked people. Often God would condemn the children of Israel. They were not submissive, they were stiff-necked. How does God look at you? Submissive or stiff-necked? to your boss, to your parent, to others in the church. May God help us to realize that submission does not come naturally. God can make us submissive people as we willingly bow the knee. Let's stand together, please, as we pray. Father, this evening, we've touched on a topic that gets our hackles up. Lord, we need to touch on it often. where we find ourselves laws unto ourselves, always desiring to be right and finding it very difficult to be humble. Lord, help us to be reminded this evening that you resist the proud and give grace to the humble. Lord, I pray this evening for someone who may be in this room, some young person. who's encountered your word again on a verse that perhaps is the first verse they ever memorized. Lord, break their heart tonight and help them to see in the Savior the submission that he wants to develop in them. Lord, for someone who's wondering why it's been so difficult for them to have a testimony at work, if the mirror of your word has shown their true image tonight, Lord, help them not to go out from this service unchanged. And Lord, I pray that you give to us within this congregation a sweet, submissive spirit, honoring and preferring one another and continuing to know unity and blessing. Lord, help us to think often when our hackles arise of the need to be submissive and thus to glorify you. And we'll thank you for it in Christ's name. Amen.