Latest / Clay to Crown / The Backwards Kingdom: Submission, Servanthood, and the Way of Jesus

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The Backwards Kingdom: Submission, Servanthood, and the Way of Jesus · Clay to Crown

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  Speaker 1: Hello everybody, your host Amanda Hughes here and welcome to
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  Speaker 1: another episode of the Clay to Crown podcast. Today we are, uh,
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  Speaker 1: I think finishing up our, our spiritual disciplines, um, series, uh,
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  Speaker 1: with servanthood, submission and servanthood. Um, you know, we've been
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  Speaker 1: talking about spiritual disciplines and it's those habits and practices
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  Speaker 1: that help us build our faith. And so, um, we've
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  Speaker 1: been talking about rest and worship. Uh, we talked about
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  Speaker 1: the spiritual discipline of study. We talked about the spiritual
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  Speaker 1: discipline of fellowship. Um, and, and today we're going to
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  Speaker 1: be talking about submission and servanthood. Um, And I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to say right up front that those are not necessarily
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  Speaker 1: popular words in our culture, right? When we say we
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  Speaker 1: need to be submitted to people in authority, we don't
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  Speaker 1: necessarily like that word a whole lot. You know, serving
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  Speaker 1: somebody else, that's a lowly expectation, right? Or that's a
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  Speaker 1: lowly things sometimes, you know, it can have a not
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  Speaker 1: negative context, right? And so they're not popular words in
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  Speaker 1: our culture. And sometimes, honestly, you know, let's be honest,
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  Speaker 1: that they're not even necessarily popular words in the church.
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  Speaker 1: We don't like those words a whole lot. But here's
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  Speaker 1: the kicker. They are central to the life of Jesus
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  Speaker 1: and they are central to the formation, the growth of
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  Speaker 1: every disciple who wants to look like him. Why? Because
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  Speaker 1: submission and servanthood teach us to think outside of ourselves.
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  Speaker 1: They train us to lay down our rights, our pride,
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  Speaker 1: and our own self-interest and So that Christ can be
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  Speaker 1: formed in us. So what does the word submission really mean?
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  Speaker 1: When we hear the word submission, I think many of us,
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  Speaker 1: like I alluded to, you know, 30 seconds ago, many
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  Speaker 1: think it has a negative connotation, right? It's a bad word.
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  Speaker 1: You know, we picture weakness. We picture that we're losing control.
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  Speaker 1: We picture oppression, right? But here's the thing, biblical submission
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  Speaker 1: is none of those things. Submission is an attitude of
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  Speaker 1: mutual subordination, choosing to give up our rights in deference
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  Speaker 1: to others. It's a form of self-denial. And it's the
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  Speaker 1: very thing that Jesus said is required if we want
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  Speaker 1: to follow him. He says in Mark chapter 8, if
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  Speaker 1: you want to be my follower, you have to deny yourself,
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  Speaker 1: take up your cross, and follow me. Again, submission is
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  Speaker 1: not about being dominated. And anybody who makes it about
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  Speaker 1: domination is taking an unbiblical look at it. It is
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  Speaker 1: about growth, though. It's about letting Christ reshape the way
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  Speaker 1: that we see people, the way we treat people, and
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  Speaker 1: the way that we respond to God. Because Jesus was
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  Speaker 1: revolutionary in how he treated people, right? He was absolutely
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  Speaker 1: revolutionary about how he treated people. But let me back up.
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  Speaker 1: Before we go any further, I want to address something
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  Speaker 1: that has maybe caused confusion in and then honestly sometimes
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  Speaker 1: harm in the history of the church. In some Christian circles,
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  Speaker 1: not every single one, I don't want to paint necessarily
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  Speaker 1: with a broad brush, but I do want to draw
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  Speaker 1: attention that sometimes when we talk about submission, it can
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  Speaker 1: cause harm because in some Christian circles, submission is, is
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  Speaker 1: a female-only discipline. But it's not. It's not a female-only discipline.
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  Speaker 1: But some traditions teach that only women submit, right? Especially
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  Speaker 1: when reading Paul's household codes in Ephesians 5. You know, wives,
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  Speaker 1: submit to your husband. Right? But that's not what Paul
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  Speaker 1: actually says. Because if we back up a verse from there,
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  Speaker 1: Paul's argument begins with a command to everyone, submit to
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  Speaker 1: one another out of reverence for Christ. That's Ephesians 5, 21.
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  Speaker 1: And so that's the controlling verb, that submit, that's the
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  Speaker 1: controlling verb of the entire section. As you move forward
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  Speaker 1: to that next part, wives submit to your husbands, the
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  Speaker 1: word submit there isn't in the original language. The translators
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  Speaker 1: are quote-unquote stealing it from the sentence prior. Everything that
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  Speaker 1: follows flows from a mutual posture. Submit to one another.
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  Speaker 1: So submission is for both men and women. It's not gender-restricted.
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  Speaker 1: It's Christ-restricted. We submit because Christ was submitted. Not because
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  Speaker 1: of our sex, not because of our gender or anything
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  Speaker 1: like that. The New Testament calls on all believers to
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  Speaker 1: submit and love one another. That includes husbands, that includes wives, elders,
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  Speaker 1: young believers, mature believers, everybody within the body of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Submit to one another. And again, what does submit mean?
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  Speaker 1: It's a form of self-denial, choosing to give up our
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  Speaker 1: rights in deference to others. What Paul is doing in
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  Speaker 1: Ephesians five is not establishing male dominance with wives submit
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  Speaker 1: to your husbands. Okay. He's not doing that. He is
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  Speaker 1: showing how mutual submission plays out in the different relational context.
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  Speaker 1: Wives submit as the church submits to Christ. Husbands submit
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  Speaker 1: by loving sacrificially as Christ loved the church. And children
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  Speaker 1: submit and slaves submit, all as showing again how we're
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  Speaker 1: supposed to submit and love one another. All of them
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  Speaker 1: are forms of self-giving love. All of them require laying
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  Speaker 1: down rights. And all of them require, or maybe demand
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  Speaker 1: is a better word, Christ-like humility. Because all of them, again,
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  Speaker 1: going back to verse 21, all of them are rooted
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  Speaker 1: in the same command to submit to one another. So
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is the model. So if he's the model for submission,
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  Speaker 1: then the submission can't be gender limited because Christ is
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  Speaker 1: the model for every believer, male and female. Submission is
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  Speaker 1: not about hierarchy. It's about holiness. It's not about one
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  Speaker 1: gender being above or below the other. It's about both
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  Speaker 1: genders imitating Christ's posture, imitating his humility, imitating his self-denial,
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  Speaker 1: imitating his willingness to serve, imitating his refusal to grasp power,
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  Speaker 1: imitating his choice to lay down his life. Submission is
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  Speaker 1: not weakness. Submission is Christ-likeness. And mutual submission, it protects
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  Speaker 1: the gospel. Because when only one gender, one sex is
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  Speaker 1: asked to submit, then the gospel becomes distorted. But when
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  Speaker 1: both men and women submit to one another out of
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  Speaker 1: reverence for Christ, the gospel is beautifully proclaimed. And then
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  Speaker 1: it becomes believable because it became embodied. It's a Christian calling.
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  Speaker 1: Submission is a Christian calling, not just for one, but
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  Speaker 1: for all. Because in a culture where women and children
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  Speaker 1: were dismissed as property, Jesus spoke to them, he honored them,
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  Speaker 1: and he elevated them. And he shocked his disciples in
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  Speaker 1: doing so, right? The disciples wanted to send the little
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  Speaker 1: children away. And Jesus says, let the little children come
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  Speaker 1: to me. He spoke with the woman at the well.
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  Speaker 1: He allowed Mary Magdalene to proclaim his resurrection. He gave
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  Speaker 1: dignity to those that society ignored. Because that was the
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  Speaker 1: culture then. Women were nothing. And yet he spoke to them,
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  Speaker 1: taught them, ate with them. And Jesus himself lived a
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  Speaker 1: life of perfect submission, not because he was forced to,
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  Speaker 1: but because.
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  Speaker 2: He chose to. He chose to enter the world. He
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  Speaker 2: chose to lay down his life.
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  Speaker 1: He chose to submit to the Father's will. Philippians chapter
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  Speaker 1: 2 says that he emptied himself, taking the form of
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  Speaker 1: a servant. And then nowhere in his submission, nowhere is
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  Speaker 1: it more visible, more vivid than in the Garden of Gethsemane.
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  Speaker 1: Because what did he say? He says, my father, if
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  Speaker 1: it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
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  Speaker 1: not as I will, but as you will. So submission
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  Speaker 1: is not passive. It's actually courageous. It can be costly.
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  Speaker 1: And it's definitely Christlike. Because it's a way of life, right?
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  Speaker 1: Submission is a way of life. The word says in
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  Speaker 1: Luke chapter 10, um, Jesus is saying here to love
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  Speaker 1: the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all
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  Speaker 1: your soul, your strength and mind, and to love your
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  Speaker 1: neighbor as yourself. That's the framework for godly submission. To
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  Speaker 1: submit to God fully, we must submit every part of ourselves.
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  Speaker 1: So what's the first one there? To love the Lord,
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  Speaker 1: your God, with all your heart. So the first thing
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  Speaker 1: we need to do is submit our heart. Our heart
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  Speaker 1: is our moral center, right? Our values, our desires, our motives.
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  Speaker 1: It's like our will. Scripture warns us against hardened hearts,
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  Speaker 1: against selfish motives, and sinful tendencies. So how do we
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  Speaker 1: submit our hearts? We submit our hearts by confessing, repenting,
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  Speaker 1: asking God to renew us, to shape our moral conscience.
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  Speaker 1: And so the next one, to love the Lord your
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  Speaker 1: God with all your heart, with all your soul. So
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  Speaker 1: your soul carries your identity, right? Your memories, your emotions,
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  Speaker 1: ungodly desires, shame, unresolved pain. It can corrupt the soul.
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  Speaker 1: But God can restore. But we have to submit it.
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  Speaker 1: We have to surrender it to him. and he can
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  Speaker 1: heal it. Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
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  Speaker 1: with all your soul, with all your strength, and with
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  Speaker 1: all your mind. So what happens in the mind? The
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  Speaker 1: mind is where our beliefs and our ideas and our
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  Speaker 1: imagination live, right? So Satan attacks the mind. How does
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  Speaker 1: Satan attack the mind? He attacks it with lies, with fear,
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  Speaker 1: with accusations. But we have to submit our thoughts to
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  Speaker 1: God so that our reasoning aligns with truth. Be transformed
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  Speaker 1: by the renewing of your mind. Romans 8 reminds us
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  Speaker 1: to set the mind on the spirit. And what do
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  Speaker 1: we get? We get life and peace. Think about the
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  Speaker 1: things that are above, not below. Philippians chapter 4 reminds
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  Speaker 1: us to think about things that are true, that are lovely,
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  Speaker 1: that are of good report. So submission, when we are
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  Speaker 1: submitting our mind, that's where the transformation happens. Transformation of beliefs,
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  Speaker 1: of ideas. So in all those things, submitting the heart,
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  Speaker 1: submitting the soul, submitting the mind, it touches every part
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  Speaker 1: of who we are. And then submission, you know, we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about submission and servanthood because the two go hand
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  Speaker 1: in hand. Submission naturally leads us into servanthood. Because Jesus
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  Speaker 1: said something that flips our world upside down. Whoever wants
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  Speaker 1: to be great must become the servant of all in
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  Speaker 1: Matthew 20. So in the kingdom of God, the way
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  Speaker 1: up is down. The path to greatness is service. He
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  Speaker 1: says in Mark that the son of man came not
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  Speaker 1: to be served, but to serve. I think it was Mark.
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  Speaker 1: And servanthood isn't about tasks, right? It's not about going
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  Speaker 1: and setting up things at the church. That's not what
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  Speaker 1: I'm talking about. Although those actions are a part of
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  Speaker 1: being a servant, right? But it's not about tasks. It's
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  Speaker 1: not about putting a check in the box and saying
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  Speaker 1: that you did your duty at church and those sorts
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  Speaker 1: of things. It's about a heart posture. It's about becoming
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  Speaker 1: the kind of person that sees others Through God's eyes.
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  Speaker 1: Because our flesh, you know, and our pride, it resists
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  Speaker 1: being servants, right? Our flesh and our pride want recognition.
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  Speaker 1: It wants applause. It wants to be seen as helpful.
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  Speaker 1: But true service is content to be hidden. And it
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  Speaker 1: doesn't discriminate between big acts and small ones. And service
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  Speaker 1: doesn't need credit. I love, and I'm not going to
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  Speaker 1: say anybody's name, but I've been around church a long time.
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  Speaker 1: And I love the people that just jump right in
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  Speaker 1: and do without being asked, without needing any form of recognition,
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  Speaker 1: without needing any form of attaboy or anything like that.
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  Speaker 1: And the ones I love the most are the ones
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  Speaker 1: that say, don't tell anybody. I don't want anybody to
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  Speaker 1: know it was me. Because servanthood should be a way
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  Speaker 1: of life. It's not just about performance. It's not about
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  Speaker 1: getting accolades. It's not about getting the light shined on us, right?
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  Speaker 1: So how can we cultivate a servant's heart? I think
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  Speaker 1: first and foremost, we have to ask God to make
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  Speaker 1: us more like Christ. Ask God to make us more
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  Speaker 1: like Christ. And then ask him to help us see
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  Speaker 1: people as he sees them. Because sometimes we don't. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: we don't like people. Or is that just me? Right?
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  Speaker 1: We need to ask God to help us see people
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  Speaker 1: as he sees them. And then keep our service hidden
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  Speaker 1: whenever possible. Value the small acts because they matter deeply.
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  Speaker 1: And then guard reputations. Again, these are practical ways to
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  Speaker 1: practice servanthood. Be kind. Listen well. Bear one another's burdens.
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  Speaker 1: These aren't necessarily glamorous things, right? But they are transformative.
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  Speaker 1: And then as I move on, I think this next
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  Speaker 1: point is one that might surprise people the most, is
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  Speaker 1: that part of servanthood is learning to be served. Part
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  Speaker 1: of servanthood is learning to be served. And I have
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  Speaker 1: a very recent example of this and maybe it fits,
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  Speaker 1: maybe it doesn't, but the Lord just brought it to
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  Speaker 1: my remembrance. So I'm going to tell the story. I
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  Speaker 1: recently had foot surgery and, um, initially I thought it
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  Speaker 1: wasn't going to be a big deal. You know, my,
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  Speaker 1: my surgeon said that I would be up and walking around, um,
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  Speaker 1: you know, pretty much right away. I didn't have to
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  Speaker 1: like stay off my foot or anything like that. So
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  Speaker 1: I had nothing set up for my family. I'm the
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  Speaker 1: cook of the household. I had nothing really set up
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  Speaker 1: for my family. Anyway, so I got my discharge instructions
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  Speaker 1: after my surgery. Come to find out, it wasn't necessarily
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  Speaker 1: that simple. She did want me to stay off of
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  Speaker 1: it for the first couple days, you know, and And
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  Speaker 1: that sort of thing. Anyway, so my church started a
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  Speaker 1: meal train for us. And it ran for a couple weeks,
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  Speaker 1: you know, two days on, one day off, that sort
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  Speaker 1: of thing. And by the end of the first week,
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  Speaker 1: I was pretty much moving around. I wasn't using my cane.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I was still in my surgical shoes, so
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  Speaker 1: that was kind of wonky and I didn't really like it. But,
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  Speaker 1: you know, when I was at home, I really didn't
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  Speaker 1: wear it. You know, and I called a couple of
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  Speaker 1: the people that were, you know, due to bring me meals.
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  Speaker 1: And one specifically, I actually talked to in the lobby
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  Speaker 1: of my church and I told her, you know, like,
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  Speaker 1: and she was like the last one, right? And I
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  Speaker 1: told her, So it's like six days away from our conversation.
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  Speaker 1: And I said, you know, I don't think I really,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I don't want to put you out. I
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  Speaker 1: really don't think I need the meal. You know, I'm
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  Speaker 1: walking around good. You know, I can cook, you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's not, it's not a big deal. And she looked
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  Speaker 1: at me and she says, you don't want to, you
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  Speaker 1: don't want to eat my food. Like I'm trying to
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  Speaker 1: remember exactly what she said. Cause I remember the look
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  Speaker 1: on her face more than anything and And I said, well, no,
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  Speaker 1: it's not that. I just don't want to put you out.
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  Speaker 1: And she says, you don't want a free meal? And
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  Speaker 1: I'm like, no, you know, it's not that. It's just
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  Speaker 1: I don't want to inconvenience you, you know. And I
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  Speaker 1: could tell I was kind of, I kind of hurt
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  Speaker 1: her a little bit, you know. And I don't want
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  Speaker 1: to make it too dramatic because it wasn't nuts or
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  Speaker 1: crazy or anything like that. But just the look on
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  Speaker 1: her face. And she finally said, Pastor Amanda, just take
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  Speaker 1: the meal. And I looked at her, she says, just
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  Speaker 1: take the meal. Just say yes. And I was just like, oh, okay.
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  Speaker 1: No problem. You know, and she and her husband and
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  Speaker 1: a friend came and it was raining and they dropped
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  Speaker 1: it off and it was a delicious meal. Um, But
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  Speaker 1: I think that's important for us, especially as those of
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  Speaker 1: us who are servants in the church, have been around
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  Speaker 1: the church, you know, even work for a church. You know,
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  Speaker 1: part of servanthood is learning to be served. She wanted
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  Speaker 1: to bless me. And I was taking that away from
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  Speaker 1: her because why? Because I didn't need the help? Because
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  Speaker 1: I didn't, like, want to be the receiver anymore, you know?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know. It's interesting on why that's so hard,
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  Speaker 1: especially those of us with servants' hearts. Why is it
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  Speaker 1: so hard to accept when we are being served? And
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  Speaker 1: I think there's a few reasons for that. And, you know, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: refine me in these areas, you know, if I meet
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  Speaker 1: any of these criteria. But, you know, pride, I think
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  Speaker 1: pride's a huge one. I don't need the help. I
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  Speaker 1: can do it. All right. So pride resists help. Pride
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  Speaker 1: wants to be the giver, not the receiver. Pride wants
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  Speaker 1: to be strong, not vulnerable. But here's the thing. Letting
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  Speaker 1: others serve us is part of living in community. I
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  Speaker 1: respect this woman. I love her and her heart. I
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  Speaker 1: love her for for how she chases after God. And
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  Speaker 1: I'm in community with her on a certain level, right?
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  Speaker 1: So when we allow others to serve us, it's part
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  Speaker 1: of living in community. It teaches humility. It teaches gratitude.
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  Speaker 1: It teaches dependence on the body of Christ. So important. Donald,
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  Speaker 1: Donald Whitney says, and he's written books about the spiritual
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  Speaker 1: disciplines and on servanthood and service. He says, most of
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  Speaker 1: the time, our service should spring simply from our love
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  Speaker 1: of God and for the love of others. And as
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  Speaker 1: a result of the life transforming presence and work of
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, I'm going to say that again. And again,
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  Speaker 1: this is a quote by Donald Whitney. He says, most
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  Speaker 1: of the time our service should spring simply from our
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  Speaker 1: love for God and love for others as a result
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  Speaker 1: of the life transforming presence and work of the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: Servanthood is not forced. It flows from love. You know,
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  Speaker 1: and so in closing, you know, submission and servanthood are
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  Speaker 1: not necessarily natural. But they are necessary. They free us
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  Speaker 1: from self-centered living. They form us into the image of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: They teach us to love God with our whole being
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  Speaker 1: and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And submission and
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  Speaker 1: servanthood is the backwards kingdom. It's the way of Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: And it is part of our path from clay to crown.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me today, everybody. I hope you've
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  Speaker 1: enjoyed this episode of the Clay to Crown podcast. Until
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  Speaker 1: next time, grace and peace. Thank you.