Latest / The Daily Word / July 24 – Honoring God Through Submission
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Hello, hello, hello. It is July 24th. It's Pastor Jenny here. And we are in First Peter chapter 3 today. And so if you are current with us, you know yesterday in 1 Peter chapter 2, we started, Peter began talking to us about authority and how we are to respect people in authority. he says In first Peter chapter two, verse thirteen, for the Lord's sake, submit to all human authority. He goes on to touch on in verse eighteen through twenty-five. he says, You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. So we really get a window into how, you know, especially in that employee employer relationship, maybe j just in anyone who would be over us in authority. maybe coaches, teachers, any kind of a relationship like that. Why am I talking to you about yesterday's reading? Because as we shift into today's reading in 1 Peter chapter 3, it's important to have that context because chapter 3 verse 1 starts with in the same way. So I want to encourage you anytime you are following along in a reading plan, if you have missed the prior day's reading and it starts with something like that. I don't always, you know, if I'm missing a a day's reading and a reading plan, I don't always, you know, have the luxury, I'll say, of time to catch up on a prior day. But in something like that, I'm gonna make sure to go back. If there's a therefore or in the same way, it would be super important and crucial, I'll say, to go back to what was just happening. so In the same way, picking up in chapter three, verse one, in the same way, so with in that thought of authority and understanding the importance of submitting to authority, in the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then even if some refuse to obey the good news, your godly lives will speak to them without any words, they will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. And so many of you may be familiar with this passage. I know in talking with people, there you know, there are some who are like, I don't I don't really love this side of the Bible, or it's just hard to hear for some. and I'm talking both women and men that struggle with this passage. and not even just this portion of scripture regarding wives, but again, even if you bump up, authority is I would say a hot topic, both secular and sacred. In today's culture. So that's why I wanted to I l to touch on it and lean into it in our time together today. But let's keep reading. I want to pick up in verse five. Peter writes, This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do. Now I really liked that Peter included this because I was actually reading recently in Genesis and reminded of just kind of thinking about meditating on Sarah and Abraham's story. And when Peter pointed this out, I was thinking about this because when we read in this passage at the very beginning in first. Peter three. And it says, even if some are to refuse to obey the good news, your godly lives will speak to them. I think we can think of, well, this is talking about, you know, I get it, Pastor Jenny. it it's easier for women that are married to follow their husbands who actually know Jesus. But what about the women who are married and their husbands don't follow Jesus? It's just so much harder, even though this is really that is the audience. Peter's talking to more so. But to be honest, this applies to women in both circumstances. And I know that because specifically when Peter chose to use Sarah as an example, we look at Abraham, who's called the father of our faith. And the specific example he uses, I love that he uses Abraham, not Abram. And the example I want to pull from that I was meditating on is if you look back at the story In Genesis chapter 20. and you can go back and take time to read it, but it's where if you're familiar with those early chapters in Genesis and Abraham's life, it says, Abraham deceives Abimelech. And if you remember when Abraham was moving and going through, now again, the promise and the covenant had already been made between Abraham and God. So Abraham was trusting God for the his promises. Abraham would have been accounted righteous at this point. but Abraham in his ways and in his own thoughts, as they were going through and traveling, realized, you know, we're gonna get in trouble here if I tell this man this is Sarah's my wife. So I'm gonna tell this man he introduced his wife Sarah by saying, She's my sister. So the king took Sarah as his own wife, only to find out, wait a second. This woman is his wife. He's like, why would you do that? And so Abraham, of course, makes a decision that is not in line with what he should have done. It would be what we'd consider sin. but Sarah, I'm sure, had every opportunity to say, Abraham, this is not what we should be doing. This is this is your ways, this is not God way God's ways. I I can only imagine, you know, maybe even the conversation she tried to have or thought she was processing. But at the end of the day, this is what Abraham said they were gonna do. So it is what Sarah did. And I think it's just such a good example of how this passage plays out. Because Sarah went and she she submitted to the authority of her husband. But what happens in the passage? God protects Sarah. Because Sarah was trusting in the Lord and she trusted in the process of what the Lord had set up. Now, if you continue reading. In first Peter, verse 7 says, in the same way. So we keep going with that same way. So again, it's important to understand that context. So while yes, wives need to be submitted to the husbands, and as it says in verse two, ball, husbands can be won over by observing the pure and reverent lives of wives. So as wives, as we trust in the Lord, and God's gonna honor wives as you're trusting the Lord. Being submitted to that authority, living a quiet having unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. That's what it says in verse four. As we put our trust in God, we're accepting the authority that God's placed over us. God honors all of that. Verse 7, in the same way, you husbands, you must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift. New life. Treat her as you should, so your prayers will not be hindered. And so I can think of two times in Abraham's life where he made decisions that perhaps prayers were hindered, perhaps where he was not in connection with God, if he he would have well, if he would have sought understanding that perhaps prayers would not have been hindered. Of course, the first one, perhaps if he and Sarah had worked together, we wouldn't have had the issue with the king. Now the Isaac and Ishmael thing, Sarah, I would say, co conspired with him. So I don't know if we can count that one. but the point is is wives and husbands both have a part to play in this relationship because it's it's a relationship is two working together. Wives are to honor and accept the authority of the husband, but not because of who the husband is, because but it's because of who God is. And because God says again, we go back to first Peter chapter two, verse thirteen, for the Lord's sake, submit to all human thor authority. We're not doing this for the sake of our husband. We're doing it for the sake of the Lord. Do all things as unto the Lord. And husbands for the The Lord's sake, honor your wife, not for the sake of your wife, but for the sake of the Lord. Treat your wife with understanding. I think a lot of things would be different in marriages if husbands would bring understanding to wives as they live together. treating them as they should, so prayers would not be hindered. If you're feeling like you're having a blockage in your life, that prayers are being hindered, because evidently prayers can be hindered. according to the scripture, because if we want prayers to not be hindered, then that means they can be. Then we need to evaluate, are we doing something? Are we not accepting the authority of our spouse, of our husband? And are we perhaps not giving understanding? So with that, my time is up today. Let's pray. While I pra while I spoke specifically to husbands and wives, of course again, we're talking about the subject of authority today. So if even if you're not married today, be reminded and encouraged that in all you do, the Lord has given us authority. It's a it is a gift and something from the Lord. And we need to evaluate are we in s align with the God with the authority that God has given us? And are we submitted to authority in a way that honors the Lord today? So God, we come before you. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the reminder from 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 13 that says, For your sake Would we submit to all human authority? We thank you that authority is your idea, not our idea. And so when we come into alignment with any sort of authority in our life today and in the days to come, no matter how small or how great, we will not look at the person in front of us. we will not look at who they are, in their greatness or in their weakness. But Lord, we will see them. We will see you instead. We will see the honor, we will see the authority that. comes from you and we will honor you. We will honor them as we honor you. And so help us to do that today. Give us eyes to see the eternal and not the immediate. So Lord, we commit ourselves to you. We lay our lives down, we lay down our preferences. specifically I pray for husbands and wives today. Lord, would you help every wife to lay down her life and her preferences to Honor and serve her husband, would you give would you help every husband to do the same today, to lay down his life for his wife, to honor her? Lord, pray speak blessing over every marriage. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.