Embracing Submission As a Way of Life: Christians to One Another - 1 Peter 3:8-12

3:20And so that's where we're going this morning. I want to just give you an overview our submission, Christians, to one another. We are to embrace submission as a way of life. First, I want to look at the characteristics of Christ-like submission. That's going to be verses 8 through 9, or the first part of 9. And then the second part that I want to mention today is how you can live the good life. And that's going to be the theme of verses 9 through verse 12. So we'll just start with the first one. Characteristics of Christ-like submission. And there's actually seven of them here. To sum up, verse 8, to sum up, that is finally, to conclude, or as Peter might say, coming to the end of what I've been saying, let me reiterate these or underscore these. To sum up, all of you, notice all goes beyond those that he specifically addressed, the citizens, the slaves, the wives. And the husbands, all of you are included in this. Seven characteristics are laid out, one right after another. First, be harmonious. Be harmonious. The word literally translates one think, one thinking, same thinking, think the same, one mind. It's a word from mind. One mind. Be of one mind.

5:01That is, you are to have the same orientation to the truth. The only hope for biblical unity is that God's people be oriented to the truth the same way. That God has spoken, that we have His words, and that His words are to be treasured and obeyed. If we don't start there, we never will be able to be of one mind. So, believers are to have the same commitment to the truth. Truth about what God has said and revealed specifically in the gospel and in all that He has said. In fact, Philippians 1:27, this is Paul's exhortation: only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. And this manner worthy of the gospel involves one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

5:57A proper orientation, a common Orientation to the truth. Second characteristic: be harmonious. Second, be sympathetic. You see that? Sympathetic. And sympathy involves sharing the same feelings, entering into the feelings of somebody else. So Christians are not only to be thinking the same, but they are to also be feeling the same. They are to sympathize with the pain and the sorrows and the loss and the difficulties of others, as well as they are to celebrate in the joys and triumphs. They are to relate to the truth the same, and they are to feel about the truth the same.

6:39Romans 12:15, rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Keep in mind, this is in the context of submission. Submit yourself to think the same, submit yourself to feel the same about issues and things in life and the body of Christ. Take time to put yourself into other people's shoes and experience their joys and their pains and their sorrows. This is what caring deeply for others looks like. And this is what submission to one another looks like.

7:23And this involves understanding. You remember, he told the husband: make sure you understand your wife. Back in verse 7, chapter 3. And understanding involves physical, mental, and emotional proximity. And that is what we are called to do. In fact, he puts it in the context of submission: that you submit yourself by being physically, mentally, and emotionally involved in the life of fellow believers. And this is exactly what Jesus asked his disciples to do. You remember that night in Gethsemane, chapter 14 of 34, Mark, no doubt, is vividly on Peter's mind. They came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, Sit here until I have prayed. And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be very distressed and troubled. And he said to them, My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep watch.

8:31Jesus wanted his disciples just to be there. They couldn't change the course of history. They couldn't do anything to remedy the cross, but he wanted them there. He wanted them emotionally, mentally engaged. And that is what we are to be. You see, we have our Lord who keeps watch over his people. And he wants us. Living in a community, watching and praying. Sometimes there's very little you can do to help remedy the situation of somebody else, but you can be there. You can watch and you can pray.

9:16The wonderful thing is, we have a high priest who knows how we feel, who knows what we're going through. He's alert. His mind is engaged into the affairs of our lives. His mind is engaged to the way we feel. Hebrews 4:15 says, We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. He knows what living life is like from the inside.

9:50And his mind is engaged with us. And that's what he asks us to do. In fact, that is submission to one another. Be engaged. Don't check out. Third, show brotherly love. Show brotherly love. This word Philadelphia. To love. To love those of your kindred. The love of those of a common origin is the idea. Show caring actions to those who have come from this like origin. Not just talking. Here, it's not just talking about a family of origin, but your common relationship to Christ. Have mutual affection for one another. We share the same journey, and especially in context here where these believers have been scattered because of persecution, fierce persecution, and are no doubt suffering, being identified with Christ was costing them something.

10:56And he's saying, You guys have the same relation to Christ. Show brotherly love to one another. Mutual thinking, mutual emotions lead to mutual service. And that's what he's saying here: take up the plight of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Take up the plight and the situation that your brothers and sisters are going through right here. And also, take up the plight of your brothers and sisters that what are they going through around the world, locally and globally.

11:34And this involves unselfish service. In fact, this statement, brotherly love, is actually in the emphasis. It's in the position of an emphasis of these five commands right here that come right after. And it's talking about a voluntary unselfishness that gets put into action to serve the needs and the interests of others. Voluntary selflessness. Voluntary unselfishness put into action. That's what brotherly love is. Fourth characteristic of Christ-like submission is to be kind-hearted, literally good-hearted, compassionate, involves a heart full of kindness. And the root of this word speaks about a person's internal organs. And sometimes it even refers to intestines. Deep, deep, inner feeling. Very strong word.

12:44In fact, you see this in action in Luke 13:34 as Christ is standing out there, making his way to Jerusalem, and he says, This, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it. You see that deep emotion being expressed by our Lord. And this is very similar to sympathy.

13:17Like sympathy, we are to be deeply moved to action by the situation of others. Deeds of kindness involve compassion and generosity. Kind-hearted, sympathetic. Have your emotions engaged, deep emotions that will move you to show brotherly love. And there's fifth: be humble. Be humble. And this returns to the mind, just like be harmonious means to be of the same mind. Be humble means be humble-minded. Be humble-minded. Humility of mind is very much like the mind, or just like harmonious. Think the same, but also think more highly of God's words than your own thoughts. Be thinking more highly of others than your own needs. Your mental faculties are to operate from a humble perspective.

14:25It's to operate from a view of self that places a greater emphasis upon God's word and a greater emphasis upon the needs of others. Your ideas, your attitudes, and general mental outlook are to give God the place of honor in your life and to serve the needs of others. In fact, I think it's safe to say that humility is probably one of the most essential virtues of the Christian faith. Without humility, One cannot receive the kingdom of God. Be humble-minded. Grace is for the humble. In fact, if you turn over to 1 Peter 5:5, this is what exhortation Peter says: You younger men, likewise be subject to your elders, and all of you clothe yourself with humility toward one another. Why? Because God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Grace is for the humble at heart.

15:37It is not for the proud. But you just go through the New Testament scripture, and it's all through their blessed. Matthew 5:3, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Luke 14, 11, For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Philippians 2:3, do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. And Christ ourselves was the very picture and embodiment of humility as he makes this universal announcement: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

16:30Those who are humble will be blessed. And it's important to understand that humility is not the same as being quiet or passive or weak-willed or easily subdued. We sometimes confuse that. No, I can assure you that the humble of the earth are strong people. They have a mental strength, and they're able to bring that mental strength into subjection to Christ. They have moral conviction, they have fortitude, a conviction of what God's word says, and they have aligned themselves under that word. That's the most humble thing you will ever do.

17:19Sometimes we confuse humility with appeasement. Christ was strong, and he brought his strength under subjection to the will of the Father. You see, as I said, with these first five, it's actually the brotherly love that is in the place of emphasis. Be harmonious, be humble, deal with the mind, be sympathetic, and be kind-hearted, deal with the emotions, and right there. Achiastic structure is the emphasis: show brotherly love. Your mind and emotions are to work together that place an emphasis upon serving the body of Christ that he loved and treasured to the point of pouring himself out for.

18:21But then he goes on to a sixth characteristic of Christ-like submission, and that is you do not repay evil for evil. Look back at verse 9: not returning evil for evil or insult for insult. You see, there's a temptation to retaliate when wronged, right? I think we all know it. When you're wrong, the natural course and pattern of our flesh is to respond in kind. In fact, you can imagine the context of this, especially if you're under a government that is very hostile to you, if you are a slave under a very harsh and unreasonable master, if you are a wife under a very overbearing and unreasonable unbeliever, you're going to get insulted.

19:16You're going to be treated wrongly. And there's going to be this temptation to retaliate. And it doesn't just stop with the citizens and the slaves and the wife. Wives, the husbands, it goes beyond to all of you. You can make the application. You are going to find situations when you are flat-out wronged in life. And you are going to come across situations where you have been dealt an evil hand, that somebody has come against you with evil intent. How are you to respond? Well, a follower of Christ does not repay evil for evil or insult for insult. When wronged, a follow-believer is to give back what is good. It does not follow that line: you give me evil, I'll give you evil. You give me insult, I'll give you insult. You abuse me, I will verbally abuse you. You despise me, I will despise you. They don't even go that route. And these responses, friends, are very natural to those who do not believe in God's sovereignty. If you do not have a view that God is sovereign and that God is in control and that God is good and that God is just, you are going to be tempted to retaliate. It all comes back to your view of God. Do you really see God as sovereign? You remember Peter? He learned this.

20:48In fact, he's going to say this. When we just look at 1 Peter 2:23, as he's referring to Christ, he says, He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. And while being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he didn't utter any threats. He kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. Christ is completely trusting in God. And there are several reasons why we as Christians are not to respond in kind. We are not to respond with evil for evil. Number one, vengeance belongs to God.

21:31Right? Romans 12:19 says, Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Wow, vengeance is his. You know what that means? That's a real load off my mind and a real load off my emotions and my mental energy because it's his. He'll take care of it. I'm free to move on. Vengeance is his. But another reason is because returning evil for evil or insult for insult only escalates the tension and turns quarrels into wars. Right? So that's another reason why we are not to respond in like manner, to repay evil for evil. And third, we are not to respond because we don't want to become like them.

22:30If you respond by repaying evil for evil, you become like those who treated you wrong in the first place. You stoop to their level, and you are conformed into the image and pattern of fallen man, not the image and pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to imitate God, and God has demonstrated a love for his enemies. Matthew 5:44 says, But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For he causes the sun to rise on the good and the evil, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

23:19Do not repay evil for evil, but we are to be like God and Christ. Number seven. But instead of repaying evil for evil, but give a blessing instead. It's the seventh characteristic of Christ-like submission. They give a blessing instead of evil. Look at that, the chapter of verse 9. And the idea of blessing is to bring good to the person being blessed. And the best good that you can ever hope for or give anybody or desire. For anyone is God's favor.

24:06By giving a blessing instead of retaliation, you pave the way for the kindness of God to touch their lives. Romans 2:4 says, Do not think lightly of the riches of his kindness and tolerance and patience. Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? It is the kindness of God that leads to repentance. And when you embody blessing instead of curses, you embody your Creator and you proclaim His virtues and you pave the way that they may be touched by the kindness of God.

24:53And this is the excellent behavior that Peter is calling the church to. So that, in verse 12 of chapter 2, he says, Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they slander you as evildoers, they may, because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Redemption is in view here. Redemption for those who persecute you. That is what you want. That the favor of God would be upon them. And you were to pray to that end.

25:30And submit yourself to repaying evil with a blessing. That's the transaction that he wants. And when you bless instead of insult, it reveals a picture of an inner stability and an inner strength that is not subject to the insecurities of the world around us. Inner strength, inner stability, an inner trust in God. Well, those are the seven characteristics of Christ-like submission. Now, shifting gears in verse 9. I want to talk about how you can live the good life. And they are connected. One comes out of the other. This principle of submission transcends the whole of this passage and sums up everything that he has said. So, how you can live the good life? Verse 9. First of all, you need to know what the good life is. Look at the second part of verse 9. For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. The good life is a life under God's blessing. And certainly this applies to the life to come.

26:56But it also, and specifically, Here applies to the life here and now. It's the blessing of life here and now. Look at verse 10. For the one who desires life to love and to see good days. Do you desire life? Do you want to see good days? In fact, I think it should go without saying that everybody here desires life and they long to see good days. I would think that that would be true of all of us. However, I'm afraid that that may not be entirely true.

27:34I think there may be some among us here today that live life pretty recklessly. If you live recklessly, it demonstrates that you really don't love life and you really don't desire to see good days. There are many who live close to the edge. They live their lives not really valuing what God has given them. It's like skydiving, right? Okay? You know, there's a law in skydiving that the United States Parachute Association says that if you hold a D license, you cannot open your parachute after you pass 2,000 feet. And one of the thrills and rushes in skydiving is passing that 2,000 feet threshold.

28:31I mean, you might hit the ground a little harder, but there's a bit of a rush. There's a bit of an extreme life on the edge. Sound crazy? Yeah, it does. You ought to see base jumping. Base jumping is even more intense in some ways because you jump from a lot lower area with a parachute that must open a lot quicker. You can jump off buildings, jump off huge cliffs. You can even fly with these little suits, but you've got to open the chute just right, or you hit the ground pretty hard. I think there are some who live life like that.

29:12Live life right at the edge. I had to give all those up. I gave up skydiving, I gave up base jumping, I gave up alligator wrestling, all that stuff once I got married because there's more to life than those things. I don't want to put my life at the edge like that. Now, the reality is, I never did those before I got married either, but still makes for a good story. But you get the idea, right? There are some, if you treat your life cheaply, you live to the edge, you take a low value of your life. Some of you give your life over to drugs and to alcohol and to relationships.

30:02That are going to destroy you. You live life to the edge, and it can't be true of you that you desire to see good days because you constantly treat your life so trivially, if that's the word. But there are a lot of reasons to want to live a good life, to desire to see good lives. Life is precious. I'm going to give you several reasons. First of all, we are made in God's image. It is good to bear that image.

30:44It is good to be alive so that you can witness the glory and wisdom of God in creation, so that you could explore the beauty of God. I wish I had 500 years to study the different veins of science that explore God's creation and to spend 40 and 50 years studying space, the infinity, or the infinitesimal in the cell, to study nature, to study so much. So many things. I feel like life is way too short.

31:25It's good to be alive. It's good to enjoy human relationships. To see the smile of acceptance, to experience relationships with fellow image-bearers of God. It is good. It is good to be alive so that you can gain an appreciation for eternity. Every joy is just a micro-picture glimpse into eternity. And every pain, and every sorrow, and every loss only wets our appetite for eternity. And if you don't experience loss and sorrow, you will not be fit. You won't really be able to appreciate what heaven has.

32:19Even death. Even as I look at my persecuted brothers and sisters across the world, even as we speak, that are being hit hard and experiencing death, I guarantee you, when they stand and on that day when Christ takes his stand and he throws death into the lake of fire, there is going to be a shout of joy that's going to cut through the universe, and on the leading edge of that are going to be those who have experienced close-up death. They're going to say, Hallelujah, there will be a celebration. An appreciation for death being done away with on a level that those who haven't experienced that will not be able to share to the same degree. It's good to be alive, to gain an appreciation for eternity, to look forward to eternity. It is good to be alive simply so that you can do good to others.

33:26Listen, if you're going to waste your life, waste it doing good to others. Do it. There are a lot of people who need you, and there is a good thing to do with your life. It's good to be alive. We could go on to experience forgiveness, to show forgiveness, to proclaim forgiveness. It's good to be alive. It's good to love life. We are called to love life. We are called to get excited to live, regardless of our circumstances. This applies to all. And I guarantee you that the original audience had it a lot worse than you and I do it, yet Peter is holding out for them the hope of a blessed and joyful life, even in the midst of their sufferings. You see, the good life can be lived even in the midst of suffering, even in the midst of pain, sorrow, loss, and death.

34:27And that is what Peter is calling this life. Too. So, how can you live the good life? First of all, you need to know what it is. Second, you need to do five things. Look back at the text. There are five imperative commands, one right after another. And it's interesting, the historical context of this next verse 10. Let me just read these. He must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good, and he must seek peace and pursue it.

34:59He's quoting Psalm 34. Peter's got Psalm 34 on his brain. And if you spent time and went and looked at 1 Samuel 21:10, you'll understand that David wrote this when he was in exile. When David was suffering unjustly. David was being faithful to Saul. He was being faithful to God. He was being faithful to the king. And he was banned. He had to flee for his life because of it. He was suffering unjustly. Very much like the body of believers that he's writing to, that Peter is writing to. And he uses David's experience and exhortation to strengthen these scattered believers who too were in exile, who too had followed God, and it cost them dearly.

36:00Five things he gives him. Number one, he must keep his tongue from evil. Literally, he must stop. He must cease allowing his tongue to speak at times. What times is the tongue supposed to be silent? When it's tempted to speak evil. And the word for evil here refers to anything indecent, anything profane, anything disrespectful, anything off-color, or anything that's harmful. An evil tongue in Psalm 140 is likened to a poisonous snake. They sharpen their tongues as a serpent. The poison of a viper is under their lips. I remember one time I was coming home. This is in California, and I was coming home after a long day at work, and I started going up the stairs, and I heard this.

36:50I thought, oh, I've got an irrigation head that's gone crazy. And I stuck my head over the hedge, and just as I did, I realized I don't have any irrigation heads right here. And in the shadow of the night, I was looking straight at a coiled-up rattlesnake. That is the picture of your tongue, or a tongue that is controlled by evil. Don't let the venom stop it. That's an imperative command. If you want to see good days, stop your tongue from speaking evil.

37:29See, this. Tongue is to submit to the righteous authority of God. You see, this whole thing in submission, he's bringing it now to an internal submission. Submit your tongue to the righteous standards of God. Second thing must do, keep his lips from speaking deceit. Same imperative command, must stop. That is, he must cease allowing his lips from speaking at times. At what time do your lips need to just close? Is when you're tempted to speak deceit. And deceit refers to anything false, anything treacherous, anything slanderous, or purposefully misleading. I remember Los Alamos, New Mexico, the atomic bomb. I didn't realize this afterwards, but the reason the Russians ended up getting the bomb was because of their spy activity.

38:24And listening to documentaries after the fact, I learned how frightened some of these spies were. A spy always lives in the fear of being found out. A spy, there's not a peaceful happiness. There's not a scene of good. They're always watching their back, always fearful of being caught. That's the life of somebody who goes around speaking deceit. There's no good days. You're on the run. But God. God's favor is upon clean and honest speech, and God delights in these. They promote a healthy conscience before God, and both the tongue and the lips are to be brought under submission. But if you look back, the next, the psalmist deals with the feet.

39:17Look at verse 11. Third thing they must do. He must turn away from evil. That is to deviate, turn, depart from, get away from. I guarantee you, when I stuck my head over that hedge and I saw that snake, if you had a camera on my feet, they were moving away the moment I realized what was taking place. And that's the command here: turn away from evil. Turn away. And what are you to turn away from? Evil. See, evil's got a prominent place here, doesn't it? The same word in verse 11. That's anything indecent, anything profane, dispersful, disrespectful, anything harmful.

40:04And this applies to your evil conversation. Turn away from it. Turn away from those who enjoy participating in evil conversation. Turn away from evil things, evil pastimes, evil cravings, evil longings, evil pursuits, evil entertainment, you name it. Evil company, evil relationships. Turn. And this does not mean you're to go. Live in a cave somewhere, but it does mean that you are to restrain yourself and restrict your activities to refrain from evil fellowship. And certainly, in context, the word evil would also include retaliation and vengeance against the governments, against the masters, against the husbands. That would be the natural response. And he's saying, stay away.

40:59Well, if you remember, Peter learned this lesson. He learned it from the Lord Himself. You remember the night when Jesus was arrested? One of those who were with Jesus, as they took him, that one being Peter, took out his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. And then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Listen, do you understand we are not to repay evil for evil? You understand how if you live like this, you will not see good days. He's saying to Peter, look, if you pick up the sword, you're going to die by the sword.

41:42Same is true with us. Let us not respond in kind. But there is a positive side. He must do good. Look at verse 11. He must do good. It's not enough to just refrain from evil. He must be active in doing good. And this is the first of two positive commands: good, that which is wholesome, upright. Kind, generous. You know, when I was hired as an engineer, I wasn't just hired not to burn down the building. I didn't get paid because I didn't do harm to the building. Well, I think the same is true. You didn't get saved just so that you can remain spotless. You are to be out and do good. When you buy a car, you don't buy a car to keep it spotless and you put it in the garage never to drive. Or you shouldn't. You get it to drive.

42:29Likewise, Christian life isn't about just staying away from evil. It's about doing good. You must be active in promoting good, doing good. And in verse 11, the end of it, he must seek peace and pursue it. And this is the second of the two positive commands. And the force of this verb is very powerful. He must seek for it. He must seek peace. He must make an earnest search for it. He must desire it, want it. He must bring it about.

43:02Matthew 13, 45, Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. That is what you're to be about. Seeking fine pearls. Seeking. It's the language of the hunt. Track it down. Find it. Track it down relentlessly. That's the bag it. Bring it back. And it's also the language of the athletic competition. I press on towards the goal. The prize of the upward call of Jesus Christ. I press on for the goal. Peace. Hunt it. Pursue it.

43:40If you want to see the good life, that's what it's going to involve. Submit yourself to this principle. We're not to be a people who just prefer peace, but who are zealously active to promote it in our own hearts and with God, peace and with one another. We are to seek peace with God, peace within our hearts, peace within our conscience, peace within our attitudes towards others, peace in our conversations. We are to learn the speech of peace. We are to seek after peace with fellow believers, and we are to be active in bringing it about.

44:19And those who do not want to see good days will do the opposite of all these. All five imperatives are going to require submission, internal submission. And in verse 12, God tells us the reason, or the reason why this is the good life. How could you live the good life? You need to know what it is. You need to do these five things, and then you need to understand what makes life good. What makes life good is the blessing and favor of God. Verse 12, for the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, that is, they are upon it, his delight and his joy, his paying attention. And his ears are attentive to their prayer. It's like I can. Remember being in a big crowd, and my wife could hear the faintest cry of one of our children. It's like she could, the whole room would be full of noise, and you hear this, oh, I hear one of my children. Like, you hear what? It's like a mother can be very in tuned to the cry of her child. Mothers know what I'm talking about, and husbands they can pick their sound of their children out in a crowd, and that's like God. That's the way He is towards the righteous. He hears their longings, He hears their struggle, His face is toward them, and His ears are open to their cry, and that is why it is a blessed life. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, His frown is against them.

45:50The ones who are practicing evil, His face is against, to bring them to an end. In fact, Psalm 34:16, Peter cuts it off mid-verse, and he leaves out this little detail. God is face is against those who do evil, and the very next line is to cut off the memory of them from the earth. But Peter's emphasis here is to encourage the righteous to persevere, to live the best life. Well, submission is to be embraced as a way of life.

46:30Those who reject this reality reject Christ. True Christianity begins with the Lordship of Christ and the internal submission of the heart that goes with it. Submission to governing authorities, submission in the workplace, submission in the home, submission among one another. You're invited to the good life, and it's a life of submission. I want to take a moment just to say more fundamental to the things mentioned here is that before you can have any walk with Christ at all, you've got to first submit to Him in salvation. He is Lord.

47:18You must submit to the fact that God calls you a sinner and that the only remedy for your sin is Christ. First, you must humble yourself and submit yourself to this. You need to submit yourself in respect to living in sin. Some of you are involved in sinful relationships and a sinful pattern of life right now, and God has already convicted you of it. You need to turn away. You need to put on submission and just obey Him. And then some of you need to be baptized. Submit yourself to the simple ordinary. Of an outward declaration to God. Let us learn submission. Let us be a people of submission and embrace it as a way of life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for this good life that you set before us. And, Father, we earnestly desire, Lord, to be all that you want us to be. And, Father, in many ways, we do not desire that. So, Father, as we can see, we know we desire, and yet we know there are things that we don't desire. And, Father, we ask that you would bring all of this under submission to Jesus Christ, our Lord. Please do so by the work of your Spirit. Take the message that has been spoken, and Father, apply it to our hearts right now. In Jesus' name.