Good afternoon, everybody. I’d like to welcome back Stephanie from the mission field. Maybe we’ll get a chance to hear from her here or after the service. It’s good to have Jim back from Tokyo. The parks are traveling to Chicago for a wedding, and other people are joining online.
So everything everyone hears is a familiar face. Now is the time to share testimony if you have one. Any thanksgiving to the Lord, any praise to the Lord, anything the Lord has been speaking to you that you’d like to share to edify the body. Is there anybody today? If not, I’m just going to read part of one verse and then we’ll pray. First Peter five, second half of verse five. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5, ESV)
Okay, let’s pray.
Father, we humble ourselves before you now. We don’t want to be opposed by you. We ask that in our posture of humility, you give us more grace. We need it, Lord.
Pray that you would not cast us out of your presence, but you would draw near to us in this time. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen. I forgot to thank Brother Matthew. I’m so grateful to him. His songs touch my heart. Thank God he’s already beginning the work, at least in my heart, as this service is underway. This is going to be a little bit personal, but try not to look around the room.
But raise your hands if you’re a young person. And there are times when you thought, I know better than my parents. So if you’re a young person, raise your hand. Okay, I see my boys raising their hands. I see all the kids and some older people raising their hands. Raise your hands if you ever thought, if I were a coach, we would win more games. Raise your hands if you are on a sports team.
Yes, yes, we have some in the back. I had a brief coaching career, but I had the same thought. And I coached soccer, not knowing a single rule, but we won almost every game just because I’m strategic. And then I told Timothy, Timothy must be in the restroom, I told Timothy, this is the playoffs and I need you in goal. But because he was my son, he did not listen to my authority and did not submit. And so he just said, I don’t want to play goalie. So we put somebody else in goal and sure enough we lost because that goalie was not good.
So I understand that mindset. If you’re on a sports team, you just think if I were in the coach’s position, we would win more games. Raise your hand if you ever thought, if I were president, I could do a better job than the person in office. Raise your hand. Yes, yes. We’ll not make any judgments. It’s past or current presidents.
You might be raising your hand. This is for wives. Wives, raise your hands. If you ever thought if I were the head of household, my marriage and my kids would be better off. Raise your hands. Okay, okay. Yes.
That’s honest and I understand. Raise your hands if you’re working and you thought if I were the boss, this department would make wiser decisions and the company would be doing better. Yes, yes. I think all of us who’ve worked have that thought. Raise your hands if you ever walked into a church and thought I could do a better job than the pastor. Okay, no one’s raising your hands. So I know it doesn’t apply here, but maybe previous church experiences you might have thought that way.
So thank you for your honesty. The one point for today is we all need to submit under God’s authority and his appointed human authorities and thank him for the lot that he has assigned to you. Submit under God’s authority and his appointed human authorities and thank him for the lot that he has assigned to you. If you think of the core of human sin in the Garden of Eden, Genesis chapter 3, it’s an issue of authority. God’s authority was established. They had to obey a simple rule and they would be thriving. And yet Satan inserted himself and deceived Eve and then eventually Adam.
And it was an issue about authority, like who’s going to tell me what to do? And man fell into that deception that I actually am wise enough in my own eyes. I shouldn’t have to listen to God. I can decide for myself. Authority is a part of society and without it there would be anarchy.
And that goes for all parts of society. So first there is authority at the national and the local level. And Romans 13, 1 through 4 explains that we should all be subject to governing authorities because they are God-ordained ministers to punish evil and to reward good conduct. And of course there are examples in the scripture when people go against the governing authorities. We have Daniel in the Old Testament when there was an unlawful edict that went out that was attacking religious freedom and Daniel and his friends refused to bow. So there’s that example. So this is, Romans 13 should never be used as a blanket verse, a passage to justify that we should always submit to everything that is told by our mayors, our governors and our presidents.
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.
For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:1-4, ESV)
Another example is in Hebrews chapter 10 where it says in scripture that we are supposed to gather as believers all the more as we see the day approaching. And we know in recent memory there was a time when we were forbidden gathering in God’s name and there were only a handful of pastors who challenged that and say we have a right to gather in God’s house. And so there are examples even in recent memory that we should obey God’s word. And God of course can tell us at any moment, yes for this season Hebrews 10 doesn’t apply to you, but we better be very confident. If we’re going to do something against God’s word that we very much heard the Lord and he gave us a very particular instruction in this season to go against God’s word, we should be very careful in those cases and live with the consequences and be confident God spoke. If not, if we’re wrong then God will correct us. So that’s God’s authority in terms of national, local governing authorities.
And then there’s spiritual authority in the household. First in the marriage there is Ephesians chapter 8 and it starts in verses 18 through 21. It starts with the deposit and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Now all believers have the ability to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. And so that is the starting point.
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-21, ESV)
And then he launches into specific men do this, women do this. And then in 1 Corinthians 11 before we go back to Ephesians 5, it establishes the framework for why Paul says in Ephesians 5 wives and husbands you have different roles in this marriage. The spiritual authority in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 3 establishes the structure and it starts with God. God is the head of Christ.
3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3, ESV)
Christ is head of man and his church and man is a head of the wife. And that is straight out of scripture. And then from there with that framework, Ephesians 5 22 to 25, it says wives submit to your own husbands.
Why? Because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
(Ephesians 5:22-25, ESV)
Submit in what areas? It says in everything. In everything. And then it says to husbands, this is not a call to be tyrants.
We’re not domineering and lording over and manipulating and threatening our wives. But instead we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church. And how did Christ love the church? He did not come to be served. He came to serve. And he was a sacrificial servant. He gave himself up for the church and that is how husbands are to lead.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
(Ephesians 5:25, ESV)
And then this idea is fleshed out more in 1 Peter 3. If it’s an important idea, then you will see it supported throughout scripture.
And this is an example of it. And then in 1 Peter 3, 1 through 6, it says wives should be submissive even to husbands who do not obey the word of the Lord. And that’s a shocking verse to find in scripture.
1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives. 2 When they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be externalthe braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear 4 But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (1 Peter 3:1-6, ESV)
So if you happen to be a non-Christian and you married a non-Christian, these verses might apply to you. Your husband is not obeying the word of the Lord. Or maybe you married somebody and you thought they were Christian, but it turns out they just went to church. And then after marriage, their true colors came out. So whatever the case, you’re in this situation that you are a God-fearing woman, but you’re married to a husband who does not obey the word of the Lord. What do you do? It says even to that husband who does not believe in Christ, submit.
Instead of nagging, instead of opposing, instead of resisting, God says in his word, win that non-believing husband over through your conduct, through your gentle, quiet spirit. Win them over. So these verses are already so contrary to what we’re hearing in society.
These are so offensive to young women growing up in this society, but this is God’s word. There is an authority structure.
And then it says in verse 7, it sounds one-sided, but it’s not. It says husbands now live with understanding towards your wife and give honor to your wife as a weaker vessel. And there is a judgment upon the husband who does not do this well. It says your prayers are hindered. There’s nothing about the wife who does not do her own good. If she does not do her part well, it says only to the husband. If you don’t do this part well, your prayers are hindered. Just an important authority structure at a national government level and then now at a household level in a marriage. And now we get into parents and kids. Ephesians chapter 6, 1 through 3, it says children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother.
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. (Ephesians 6:1-3, ESV)
And with this verse, and this is probably one of the only verses that I’ve ever seen, where there’s a promise attached to it that if you do this, you honor your parents, your father and your mother. There’s a promise of a blessing and a promise of a long life. And this is regardless of how deserving the parents are.
There’s no caveat here. It doesn’t say if your parents don’t deserve it, don’t honor them. It says all children honor your parents. And then in verse 4, it puts the spiritual burden of training and admission of the Lord on the fathers.
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:1-4, ESV)
And that’s a heavy burden on the fathers. And then after the household, this authority structure extends to your workplace.
So this idea that I’m sharing with you is very, very practical. I want you to hear it. Verses Ephesians 6, 5 through 7, if you’re a Christian in a workplace, you’re the employee. You’re working for some employer, you have a boss. These verses apply to you.
5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
(Ephesians 6:5-7, ESV)
It says we are to be obedient to our bosses with fear and trembling. In sincerity of heart, ask to Christ. And that means we do excellent work, not because we’re looking over our shoulder when our boss is coming into the room and we notice them, that’s when we turn it on. No, we do it unto the Lord in full view of God. This applies to students. We’re excellent students, not for the grade, not for college admissions. We’re doing everything unto the Lord. Same with when you’re working. It’s not for your boss. It’s not for the promotion.
It’s not for more money in your bank account. You’re doing it unto the Lord because you’re submitting yourself under authority. See, all of this is training. Because if you don’t get this, and God is your final authority, will you ever submit to a God who you do not see? And a God whom you turn to obey to God’s authority if you don’t do it as a child growing up in your home, as a husband and wife out of reverence for Christ, in your workplace, in your school? If we don’t submit to presidents, whether you like them or not, we don’t have permission to just disrespect the office of the presidency just because we don’t like the person in office. There’s a certain kind of restraint that we should have that now with social media we’re being trained in the opposite way. No, just say whatever you want. You don’t like the guy. You don’t like your boss.
You don’t like your parents. You don’t like this. You just say it. No, you’re supposed to restrain. You’re supposed to, out of reverence for Christ, submit under certain human authorities. It’s a training ground because ultimately we are all submitted under God. How do we learn this? We learn this through human authorities. If we can’t submit under human authorities, even ones that are quite good, how are we ever going to learn how to submit under God? So just think back to how you talked about your parents behind their back, how you talked about your professors that you didn’t like, how you talked about bosses who you thought were incompetent, who you thought you could do better at.
And I think God will convict us today of many, many sins, many, many sins. And I think lastly there is the sin of rejecting God’s spiritual authority, starting with God’s leaders in his church. 1 Peter 5 explains how elders and overseers should shepherd the flock, not by compulsion, which is not by force, not by obligation. It’s not someone who just runs through the motions because they’re obligated. They don’t care for the people, but it’s a paycheck. It’s shameful to be that kind of an elder, a shepherd, an overseer. We’re supposed to do it willingly, gladly, voluntarily. Even if there’s no money, we will just do it because we feel a love for the people. We just want to show up and be there for the people. That is the kind of shepherd is described in 1 Peter 5.
And not for dishonest gain. How shameful it is that there are people in God’s church getting filthy rich, filthy rich, on the backs of the people, especially in the poorest countries. You see it even in the poorest countries. The pastors are just stealing money, and that is directly impacting the food on the tables of the congregants. It’s for dishonest gain. They’re just doing it for money. That’s the last thing that should motivate a pastor to go into the ministry, because they see some who are getting filthy rich and they want to follow that lifestyle, and so they get into it for money. It is shameful. It says it in Scripture. This is shameful.
It’s shameful gain. You shouldn’t do it for that reason, but instead you should do it eagerly, not for the money. The pastor should be not doing it for the money. But instead they should be doing it by, they should be an example to the flock.
Not just teaching about humility, but displaying humility. Not just teaching about being patient, but showing patience. Not just preaching something and it sounds good, but they actually live it out. And this is the danger of you two preachers, because you have no idea how they live. If you are part of a church, and I don’t know how you do this, if it’s a large church, you want to get to know the pastor. Because you want to know, are they living it? That’s important. And so I would say this spiritual authority is different than all the other authority structures. Because if your parents are bad, you can’t get rid of your parents if you’re the child. If your boss is bad, well, you’re supposed to submit under it until the Lord releases you, because there’s some training there for you.
You might be complaining in your heart, but God is training you in that toxic work environment to see, are you doing it unto me? Because I sent you there, remember how you praised me when I opened the door. And as soon as you get there, you don’t like the boss, you don’t like the coworkers, and so you’re just complaining every day. And so your whole work experience is complaint. Isn’t there a training there that God would not release a complainer? Don’t you see that God wants to train his people to submit under authority, even authorities that are not deserving of respect, because God is training us? There’s scripture that says even if you’re persecuted unfairly, what do you do? You bless them. How can you do that unless you’ve been trained? But spiritual authority is different, because if you discern, you test the spirits, that this person is not of God.
Their spirit is not of the Holy Spirit. They are possibly a false teacher. Then as soon as possible, you leave. You don’t submit under that kind of testing and training. There’s no training under a false teacher.
You’re just going to get darkened. You’re just going to be led astray. So as soon as you discern, this teaching is false. I’m false. There’s the door. You got to leave. As soon as you discern that, you got to test the spirits. So I would say in every other human authority, like people who complain about America, like I don’t like America, and they’re complaining every day about America, well then leave America. You don’t have to be in America. Just leave. If it’s so difficult for you to be in America, then who’s stopping you from leaving? Just leave.
If you’re here, then you submit. You submit. Even if you don’t like your governor, you submit. Of course, you can pray for the governor. Of course, you can pray for exposure. Of course, you can pray for freedom. But it doesn’t serve you to be a kind of person who’s always complaining in California. It’s miserable. It’s so great in Texas. Well, go to Texas. It’s so great in Florida. Then go to Florida. If you’re here, then you’re here. Not to complain about being here. You’re here to fight spiritually for California.
Spiritual authority is different. If it’s a false teacher, then you must leave. That means you must get to know the pastor.
You don’t know the pastor on YouTube. They sound good, but you don’t know them. So be careful. You want to get to know the pastor.
God calls all of us to submit in God’s church to one another. Why? In 1 Peter 5, the second half that we read, because out of being submissive to one another, we clothe ourselves with humility. The reason why we do that is because God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. And don’t we all need grace? We cast all of our cares upon Jesus. And this last form of authority, which is the most important in human life, spiritual authority, there is a great example of a danger in Numbers 16. And we won’t read it, but let me just summarize it for you. It is Korah’s rebellion. And you may be familiar with this. It’s a great example of a danger in Numbers 16. And I want to read it for you. It is Korah’s rebellion. And you may be familiar with this story. Korah, Dathan, and Abram, and 250 leaders, leaders who are respectable among the million-plus Israelites who are wandering in the desert. This is a mega church of mega churches. And Moses is handpicked for this job. He didn’t choose it. He didn’t choose it. You don’t apply for this kind of a job. God appoints you. Like, did God appoint? I mean, did Moses choose his lot in life?
That he was born a Hebrew boy at a time when all the Hebrew boys were being murdered? And he was put into the river just for a chance for this baby to survive? And some of the midwives see it. And he was raised up in Pharaoh’s court because God was protecting this child. And he grows up for 40 years. And then in Acts chapter 7, it says Moses received a burden from the Lord. He wanted to be a judge for his own people because he was a, he was in Hebrew, but he was also an Egyptian. So he was having a crisis. As many of us here, we are American, but we also have another ethnicity that we were born into from our parents. And Moses, at age 40, he felt this burden to somehow now be a judge and a leader for his people and to mediate between them because they were being oppressed and they were fighting amongst themselves. And the Hebrews responded by saying, who are you? Who called you to be a judge? We don’t recognize that you’re sent by God. And so he was rejected. And we see also in Hebrews chapter 11 that Moses made a deliberate choice to not indulge himself any longer in Pharaoh’s court. With all the fleeting pleasures of sin, he chose rather to say no to that comfort, that luxury, and to go out on his own and to be poor and to raise a family quietly. He did this as an act of faith. And this person was handpicked 40 years later at age 80. And he did not choose it for himself because you see his resistance. He didn’t want to do it. He says, I can’t speak. And God addresses all of his delays, all of his excuses. Eventually, Moses gets handpicked for this assignment. And it goes the same for anyone in God’s church who God chooses. It’s not because they chose it for themselves. It’s because God chooses them, appoints them.
It’s not someone saying, well, I want to be a pastor. I want to be a missionary. No, God appoints his servants. It’s not up to us. And when God’s hand picks you and speaks to you, you know it’s from the Lord. And there’s a part of us that are fighting the Lord. We don’t want to do it. But eventually, we submit under God’s choosing and we do it. And Cora was an interesting person. And he starts out in number 16, verse 3. He starts out by saying something that actually sounds kind of okay. He says, Moses, you take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? So now Cora and the men, they’re criticizing Moses and Aaron. Why are you exalting yourselves?
3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them.
Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? (Numbers 16:3, ESV)
Isn’t the Lord among all of us? Aren’t we all equal in the Lord’s sight? It actually sounds right. And there’s a partial truth there. And see, this is how Satan works. He takes something that’s partially true and he’s applying it in the wrong context. Because it’s applying it here in terms of spiritual authority. And Cora was not chosen to lead these Hebrew 1 million plus people out of Egypt into the promised land. It was Moses’ assignment alone. Only he was called to this. And Aaron was on his side. And it says in verse 4, and this is the greatness of Moses. When he heard it, he fell on his face. Everything that Moses said was not a reaction. He is not reactionary. Think of if you are the leader and then suddenly someone shows up at your door and says, who pointed you as a leader? I think I should be the leader.
Like it’s like this would never happen, but Matthew’s showing up at my door and say, I don’t think you should be the pastor. I think God has called me to be the pastor. I think you should not exalt yourself and you should just step down. It’s kind of like that. These are trusted leaders. These are people who have been loyal up until this point. And suddenly something comes into their heart and they’re challenging the leadership of Moses and Aaron. And Moses fell on his face because he wants to hear from the Lord. And that is where the leaders have to model this for everybody. Everything that we say is not our emotions, is not our intellect, is not our strategy, is not our goodness, is not our human wisdom.
We don’t say anything just off the top of our head. We have all these good ideas. No, we don’t do church this way. No, we don’t do church this way. No, we fall on our face on the Lord. Lord, what do you want to say to these people?
Because if I speak, maybe I’m going to lose it. I don’t want to misrepresent you. Let me just fall on my face before you. This is Moses’s greatness as a leader. And he heard from the Lord and he heard this and he spoke to Korah. He says, tomorrow morning, the Lord will show who is his and who is holy and who will cause him to come near to him.
5 And he said to Korah and all his company, In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.
6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi! (Numbers 16:5-7, ESV)
And he tells Moses and the rest, take sensors, put fire in them, bronze sensors, put incense in them, and we will see who the Lord chooses. It’s almost like Elijah and the prophets of Baal.
We’re going to have a showdown and we’re going to see who the Lord has actually chosen. And we see a little bit of the tenderness of the Lord coming out. And this is from Moses’s mouth, but it’s coming from the Lord. Remember, Moses fell in his face and this is coming out of Moses’s mouth. He says to Korah, hear now, you sons of Levi. This is verse eight.
Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve him, and that he has brought you near to himself, you and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? Therefore, you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that you complain against him? We read in Numbers chapter three that Korah was a grandson of Kohath. And as a Kohathite, Korah was responsible for transporting the items within the tabernacle.
So he was called by the Lord to serve in this specific way. But Korah thought it was too small of a thing. He was greedy for more. He wanted the priesthood. He wanted the visibility. He wanted the praise of man.
He compared his lot with Moses and Aaron, Aaron specifically, and say, why am I just doing all the background things in the tabernacle? Can’t I be in the front with Aaron in prominence before the people? And so if I were to label this sin of Korah, it is a sin of rebellion. Rebellion means God is the one in charge. And instead of submitting under his authority and giving thanksgiving and being grateful and content for the lot that he has assigned particularly, specifically, personally to you, we look over the shoulder and we say, I want that. There’s a greed. There’s a rebellion.
There’s a casting off of authority and an exaltation of oneself. This is pride, greed, jealousy, envy, all starts with rebellion. And it voices itself with slander, with grumbling. There’s so many sins that get attached to this one sin of rebellion. It is the same sin that happened at the garden.
God, who are you to tell me how I’m supposed to live? I’m wise. Yeah, you’re holding out for me. Let me let me eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I cast off your authority.
I can do it on myself by myself through this one sin. We see all the sins. Korah’s rebellion, this sin of rebellion. Flow so many sins. And some 1500 years later, this sin is recorded in Jude chapter one, verse 11. He says, woe to them.
This is false teachers, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedy in the era of Balaam for profit and have perished in the rebellion of Korah.
What did God do through this sin of rebellion in Korah’s day? God did show up. Korah and the Korah three rabble rousers. They were swallowed up by the earth. The rest of the 250 men were burned by fire from heaven.
11 Woe to them!
For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. (Jude 1:11, ESV)
It reminds me of Saul in first Samuel 15. God spoke very clearly to Saul through the prophet Nathan. I want you to utterly wipe out your enemies. Don’t take anything. And God saw he he did not kill the pagan king, a god. And he kept some of the plunder from himself.
And Nathan came and he heard the bleating of the sheep. And he rebukes him and he says, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. And then he ends in first Samuel 15, verse 23, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. I never understood what that meant until this week. Witchcraft is using demonic, satanic powers to get what you want. And don’t we do the same to God?
We have an agenda, what we want. And we pray to God. We try to manipulate and we try to we beg and we we throw tantrums because he’s not giving us what we want. It is a sin of rebellion, which is the same as witchcraft. You’re treating God as if he is. God of witchcraft.
He is someone that can be manipulated to get what you want.
And I just want to end with Psalm 16, verse five. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel. And the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices.
My flesh also dwells secure, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your Holy One seek corruption. You make known to me the path of life in your presence. There is fullness of joy at your right hand, our pleasures forevermore.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalms 16:5-11, ESV)
The reason why God led me to this passage and the reason the way he’s addressing me this week is. The sin of rebellion. I never thought of myself as a rebel.
But he showed me this week a heart of rebellion. Because I look over my shoulder and there are ministries that I envy. And I say they have influence that I think I should have. And I look back to things that I felt the Lord inspired to me, prophesied over me years ago. And I think, Lord, when is that day coming? And I see it happening in other places.
And there’s a jealousy, there’s an envy. And what that, it fuels discontent. You know? And is there any difference between that heart and Korah? God called Korah. God assigned him his lot.
Korah was supposed to submit under that authority and to give thanks, to be grateful, to be faithful, to be sincere, and to serve God’s sanctuary to the utmost unto the Lord. And instead he wanted the priesthood, he wanted the visibility, he wanted the praise of man. There’s so much there in this heart of rebellion. And I think what’s driving this discontent, a grumbling spirit in me, isn’t it the same rebellion? And God wiped out Korah. And I was so sorry to the Lord.
I should have been wiped out. The earth should have swallowed me up. I don’t deserve to live with this heart of rebellion. It’s like why am I still alive? It is the graciousness of the Lord. He is so gracious to me.
I should have been wiped out years ago. I don’t deserve. God called me to the ministry. Instead of giving thanks, I looked over my shoulder. I did not submit under his authority, his timing. I murmured in my heart.
I complained. I looked over the shoulder. And I think the same sin as the Holy Spirit will convict you as we close this service is that same heart in you. That instead of accepting and submitting under his authority, you complain at your parents. You complain at your spouse. You complain about your boss.
You complain about your professors. You complain about all the authority structures, mayors, governors, presidents. Every authority that God has put in your life, you complain. But if you think you can do better, it’s a heart of a rebel that can’t give thanks, that can’t accept the lot that he assigns to each of us. We deserve to be swallowed up in wrath. But God has shown us so much mercy.
Let’s be careful what comes out of our mouth. Let’s clean up our heart, our emotions. It is not right to grumble. Let’s start practicing a heart of thanksgiving. It must come forward. The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places.
He knows how to save each of us. We have to acknowledge he’s placed us in the exact place where you and I can be saved and stay saved. Let’s pray. Father, forgive us for being rebels, for complaining about the lot that we have been assigned in life. Forgive us for complaining about our government, governing authorities, complaining about pastors and ministry leaders. Or aren’t we doing the same thing that Korah did? Don’t we all deserve wrath?
Shouldn’t we all have been wiped out by now? Forgive me, Lord, for thinking that Hill Community Church is too small a thing. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. I submit under your authority, Lord. I submit under your authority, Lord.
I’m not in charge. It’s not up to me, Lord. It’s not up to me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. Have mercy, Lord. Have mercy, Lord. I deserve death. Thank you for being gracious. Thank you for being gracious to a rebel like me. Forgive me.
Forgive me. Lord, if we just take a step back, you’ve given us Christ. You’ve given us eternity. You’ve given us salvation. On top of that, you’ve given us so much. Families that love us. Spouses that are trying their best. Children that are trying their best. Bosses that are trying their best. You’ve put us in the best country in this world for a reason.
You’ve blessed us, Lord, far more than we deserve. We deserve wrath, but Lord, you’ve blessed us. How can we ever stop giving you thanks? Shouldn’t our mouths be overflowing with thanksgiving? Never grumbling, never grumbling, never criticizing, never slandering authority figures in our lives. We should never be like that, Lord, because ultimately, when we slander human authorities, we’re likely going to have a hard time submitting under authority of you. Forgive us, Lord. Forgive us, Lord. We accept a lot that you’ve assigned to us. The boundary lines have fallen for around us in pleasant places.
You’ve been gracious to us. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for Jesus. We have every spiritual blessing in Christ. Even if nothing goes well in our lives, we have everything we need. We praise you for dying on the cross for our sins, for allowing your body to be broken, your blood shed. Thank you, Lord. We pray that you meet us as we close out this service. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
